


Walls

by TreywisKrucks



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Harry Styles, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Doctor Louis Tomlinson, Hurt/Comfort, I think there is some angst maybe quite a chunk, M/M, Omega Louis, Omega Verse, Soldier Harry Styles, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, World War I, nvm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:14:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TreywisKrucks/pseuds/TreywisKrucks
Summary: Following his line of sight, he frowned and shook his head, "What's wrong?""Wasn't your timer on your ring finger?" Liam asked, at that the Alpha immediately swapped the tumbler and looked down at his finger which sported a string of tiny blue flowers on the underside of his ring finger.The two of them looked at one another."You could've touched nearly fifty people by the time you grew delirious," Liam advocated, always the voice of reason. "Comrades, nurses, doctors."Sighing, he turned away and continued drinking the water. Literally, the only fucking thing remaining in the middle of a fucking war.OrHarry has his soulmate timer stuck at zero from the beginning of time but suddenly the fates show mercy and a lovely forget-me-not takes the place of his timer. In between finding his soulmate in a war camp and solving the puzzle of the charismatic doctor who is treating him, all he can hope for is to live.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne mentioned
Comments: 52
Kudos: 322





	1. Athena's Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must also stress on the fact that, I was heavily inspired by the embodiment of gold which is Peaky Blinders for this fanfiction so if you feel that anything at all is replicated, I own nothing.
> 
> I was also one hundred percent influenced by Lana Del Rey for a major chunk of the second chapter. Like heavily influenced. So I own nothing which replicates that as well.

Louis Tomlinson did not cry very often. 

The aforementioned statement seemed like an exaggeration when he mentioned it and an outright lie if his gender implicated it. So he avoided, in extreme measures, to talk about it. He refused to allow his rational faculties to be clouded by pointless whirlwinds of emotions which would just make him feel weaker than he was.

So when his parents passed away, he did not cry. When his brother died with a bullet in his heart, he did not cry. Louis did not cry. He mourned but he refused to shed meaningless drops of water by wasting not only his time but also his health. 

With the kind of resilience and will he bore, it was predecided that he would serve his country by going to war which was why the man was calmly moving through the flaps of the tent.

Louis was a surgeon. A very well known surgeon and was highly in demand for his precision and skill. He had apprenticed with Elizabeth Anderson herself and was a star pupil amongst the selective ones she taught. Adding the weight of his gender and the fact that he was without a guardian and very evidently single made his person equivalent to that of molasses for the unrequited attention of Alphas. The fact they were at war with minimal supplies and death lurking at every corner did nothing to dissuade his suitors.

"Tomlinson," a female voice called up and held him by his arm taking no greeting in return and pulled him in the opposite direction.

"Swift, what is your problem?" He snapped at the Alpha, as she continued dragging him out.

"How long have you been up?"

"Four in the morning, some soldier needed an amputation," he responded, as she dragged him out to a secluded corner of the tent. 

Making him stand before her, she held up a loaf of bread with butter spread and handed it over to him. Removing a cigarette herself, she quickly flicked the lighter out and lit it. 

"Go on," she prodded him which caused the man to sigh. 

She had always been this way since she met him. Louis was unsure whether she was committed in friendship with everyone or just the basket cases. And judging by her fiery fiancée's letter, he assumed only the basket cases.

Taylor Swift and he were fast friends. She enlisted to serve as a physician while he did as a surgeon. And he could say she definitely lacked the finesse of an Alpha but her out of the box thinking always helped the duo out. 

"Thank you," he told her with a genuine smile which hardly took a moment to reciprocate in the form of a wink.

"Davidson has been shipped off," she informed him. Did he mention she also knew everything? 

"Fantastic news," Louis told her, sarcasm evident. "They still want to play politics in the middle of it all?"

"That's not the only reason, I came here," Taylor sighed and handed over the envelope to him. "If anything goes wrong in that letter, I'm here for you."

Louis did not possess the patience Taylor did. He found it much more convenient to immediately confront the subject rather than circling around it and building up pointless anxiety. Tearing the envelope open, he plucked the letter out and scanned through it and shook his head by the time he shredded it.

"It's my aunt, she is sick and wishes my good survival in the war and tells me it's an honour to do what I am doing," He sighed and turned away, "tells it would appease her greatly if I found a handsome Alpha here."

Taylor let out a giggle which reminded him of the wind chimes which hung in the balcony of his villa in London, "It doesn't matter if you're in the middle of a war, mating and baby producing is all that families think about."

"You're the one to talk," Louis shot back, "you at least have a mate waiting back in Glasgow."

"Fiancée," she corrected him.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes and took the cigarette of her fingers.

Taylor chuckled and looked back at the Omega with a fond gaze, "Lou."

Louis looked at the pleased Alpha and waited for her to continue but noticing her demeanour, it did not seem that she was going to, any time soon.

"I have a cousin," she finally continued, "who is a very nice man and a very good Alpha-"

"-fuck, no," Louis cursed shaking his head and looked at the Alpha with an expression which carefully displayed his disinclination towards the entire thing, "what the fuck?"

"Why?" She whined, the audacity to do so.

"Because I hate their chauvinistic views and the fact that they think we need a paddle to row our own boats."

"Realistically, you do need a paddle to row a boat."

Louis glared daggers at her for this comment and quickly moved off from the place returning to the tents.

Another reason to assure he was stronger than most of his fellow Omegas, he knew there wasn't going to be some fairytale ending for him and neither did he need to keep waiting for his soulmate which was easier. Undoubtedly.

Chasing after the surgeon, she paused before him and held her hands up in defence, "I tell you because I care."

"And I tell you because I want you to not behave like my fucking aunt," Louis snapped back and continued walking with the fit of rage over him but calmed down instantly and turned towards the Alpha who looked quite a bit offended, "Tay, it's just, just leave it there, yeah? I really don't desire an Alpha."

Taylor gave him a defeated sigh and shook her head in reluctance, not agreeing but definitely taking in that piece of advice. He knew she meant no harm and just felt a staggering amount of responsibility towards him and Louis loved that reminded him of Aldrin but with Alphas it always got overbearing after a certain point.

"But Louis!" She stretched his name with that ridiculous tone of hers, "He has got two dogs."

At that, his tall tower of resilience cracked and Louis let out a chuckle.

* * *

The tents were flapping with the winds which blew their cold through the delicate fabric. The night was upon them and the soldiers littered on the floor did not particularly seem to care about the temperature drop. They continued to sleep soundlessly amongst the whispers of the breeze while the entrance was flapping mercilessly. Louis could hardly blame the men and women sleeping tiredly when in their state and situation anybody would chase any amount of sleep they could receive. The man he was stitching up was a very good example of it as well.

He was completely sloshed even though his arm was at Louis' mercy. Arriving with another group of beta soldiers who he had just bandaged up. 

Pulling his sleeve lower to facilitate better access, Louis noticed a name inked on his forearm. 

A legible _Maylene_.

By his looks, the soldier looked twenty at the most and by that context, the name was predominantly his soulmate's. Lucky lad. To have a name tattooed was essentially the easiest soulmark one could ever get. There were worse ones in this world, a random flower or the first thing your soulmate told you and if God was extremely scornful, scars. But there was also the fact that less than twenty per cent of the world population and he belonged to the tragic twenty.

What Louis had was a fucking timer on his wrists. A timer which was at 00:00:00:00:00 since the minute he was born. It was clear that his soulmate was dead but with twenty-three years of your skin being marred, it began mattering less as time passed.

Pushing the sleeve back up, he moved from his place. Stepping out of the tent, he decided to check his pocket watch for the time. Half-past two. 

Louis was moving in the direction of his tent. It was half-past two and he was unaware how much sleep he would receive if he received any at all. He hoped thoroughly that at least until six, nobody would disturb him but that was an inherently expensive thought to harbour in the current times. 

As he closed in, he noticed a wagon moving in his current direction with a group of people. It definitely carried more people than one could possibly manage on a wagon such as that. And Louis knew this night just grew longer.

Expensive indeed.

The man driving the wagon quickly discarded the reigns of the horse and jumped down. Noticing Louis' white coat he looked at him through the lamp he retrieved from the back of the wagon. His brown eyes seemed weary with dust all over his face.

"How many?" Louis questioned, making no attempt at small talk.

"About thirty, mate. My friend, he is the worst," the man continued, "three gunshots and one explosion."

"If he survived till here, I am sure as fuck, he will survive the night," Louis assured him and then continued giving him instructions, "You pull the wagon up to that tent there, I am getting my other fellow doctors."

Louis' heart clenched when he had to rouse all the nurses and orderlies from just an hour worth sleep, Taylor left him just twenty minutes ago and had not even placed her head on the floor appropriately when she met his eye. Nearly, everybody was up from his own tent and they'd wake up the other if and only if they genuinely needed more manpower. 

Swiftly, grabbing Taylor's hand, he took her along, briefing her the situation and continued letting people go off with the orders he gave. Stepping into the tent, Louis looked up at the man who drove the wagon. In light of the illuminated lamps, his uniform was more visible. Allowing him to guide him toward the man on the table, he asked him to remit Taylor about the other men who were brought in.

When Louis reached the table, he noticed the man's eyes were struggling to remain open, he smelt of dust, gunpowder and blood. Stripping his shirt down, he examined the wounds, one of the bullets had been removed, the one which hit his back and the rest in place. Shoulder and abdomen.

Quickly placing the cotton all around the wounds, he turned to the nurse to ask for anaesthesia and put on his gloves while beginning treatment.

"It won't pain much after the anaesthesia, so don't worry," he reassured the Alpha whose eyes were fluttering at him.

"You're beautiful, have you been told?" He questioned the man.

Rolling his eyes, he let out a breath of exasperation. Even at the cusp of death, all Alphas do is think with their cocks. 

"Jenna, I hope you have the anaesthesia like now?" Louis demanded.

"Why?" He muttered, the breath of alcohol blew upon him with no screen as a filter, "I would love to see someone pretty as you on my dying bed."

"You're not dying, Alpha," he told him with a chuckle, "you are however very drunk so kindly keep quiet."

"But you're so beautiful." 

Jenna came in time to hand him the cloth and that's when Louis assured that he lost consciousness.

* * *

The noises came in first and consciousness later.

His mind was still boggled up to bother with any details, he could try to manage. The noises were growing so steady that his head began to hurt. Forcing his eyes open, the Alpha looked around for any source of familiarity but found none. It was clear that Liam was the one who towed him here but where the fuck was he? Looking at the occupied beds beside him, he recognised no comrade he fought with.

Spotting a nurse moving in his direction, he called for her and asked the whereabouts of the man who brought him.

"Give me a moment, Sir," she told him and marched out of the tent.

And that moment turned into a cluster of minutes and the minutes turned into quarter an hour and was spilling into half an hour when he decided to get up. Sauntering to the opening of the tent, he raised the flap to allow a rude intrusion of sunlight fall right upon him. The direct contact sparked and made him dizzy, instigating him to lose the grip on his limbs and fall upon the floor bringing about everyone's attention.

A shadow fell upon him easing the sudden invasion of the light, closing the flap of the tent.

"Not a very sound decision, aye?" A voice came through and gently helped the nurse to make him stand on his feet.

Regaining his sight, he saw a small Omega in a coat who was holding his arm. Due to the angle, he held him, his face remained invisible but his feathery brown hair could be seen. Making him sit back upon his bed, the man came to vision.

And Jesus help his eyes.

High cheekbones laced with regal gold skin, detailing his jawline. His lips seemed to be painted by Athena herself, a delicate pink which brought his ocean blue eyes out. 

Attempting to hide his awe with a scoff, he turned his eyes at the Omega who questioned, "Are you still feeling dizzy?"

"Only due to the light."

The doctor nodded his head and asked the nurse to fetch a few medicines while he made Harry sit down. 

"The dizziness is because of the sudden exposure to light otherwise in my professional opinion you are perfectly fine," he continued explaining to him while taking a chair to sit before him, "but I really cannot give you an all-clear to return to the trenches due to your abdomen injury."

Harry quietly nodded his head in understanding as the Omega continued talking and elaborating that the higherups had transferred his positioning to that specific camp and asked him to supervise without entering the field.

"Where is Liam?" the Alpha questioned him.

"He is writing a letter back to your hometown," the Omega answered and took the spoon and syrup from the nurse, "I'll send him in after he finishes."

With that, he motioned him to open his mouth for the syrup and fed him the disgusting vomit flavoured water while keeping a straight face.

"It tastes horrid but you'll get used to it." he informed the Alpha and thoughtfully added on, "Nearing to twilight, I'll send someone to show you around, you still need to know what's going on here, Sergeant."

Nodding his head, he took the Alpha's leave. As soon as he left, he turned in the direction of the nurse who was observing the entire exchange. She was clearly interested in conversation which made him raise his eyebrows in the implication of her thoughts.

"He is that methodical with everyone, Alpha Styles," she assured him, "but he is very good at his work."

Handing him the bowl of soup, she stood by his bedside and assured him, "The night you were brought in, he was heading to sleep at three in the morning but instead he went and woke us and the orderlies and began his surgery on you."

"He is a very good man in spite of his serious deposition," she went on, "and bitter words."

Harry quietly nodded in her direction and redirected his focus on the soup before him. In the trenches, the Alpha was assured that he was not going to make it. One explosion and three gunshot wounds later nobody could be overly positive about their life. The transaction of thoughts was not of a pessimistic nature but of a realistic approach. That being the reason he just agreed to whatever Liam suggested without any retaliation which is why he made Harry drink to oblivion. God alone knows how the man acquired liquor.

And now it seemed he had been loaned another life by this surgeon who had sewed him up.

"Which stations did you serve Sergeant?" The nurse continued to make small talk, as she placed the pills on his plate.

"Mons, Verdun and now I am here," he told her.

His eyes kept still when his attention was suddenly taken away by another Alpha taking a seat who smiled at him. He came in to talk to Harry as soon as, he was made aware of his resurrection from the dead. He filled him up on everything from the battle status in Verdun and the current status of the place they were in. According to the fellow Alpha, he had slept in for nearly four days and although most of the other nurses and doctors were concerned, the man who performed the surgery wasn't and he thoroughly believed in his recovery. 

"Looks like you're stuck with us for a while longer," Liam joked, making the Alpha raise an eyebrow. 

"Maybe, I am," he muttered and reached out for the tumbler of water. Hardly did he begin swallowing the water down, he saw Liam's widened eyes darting at his hand.

Following his line of sight, he frowned and shook his head, "What's wrong?"

"Wasn't your timer on your ring finger?" Liam asked, at that the Alpha immediately swapped the tumbler and looked down at his finger which sported a string of tiny blue flowers on the underside of his ring finger. 

The two of them looked at one another and Harry let out a sigh. For twenty-five years of his life, he received nothing but judgement in the form of pitiful eyes that his soulmate mark which was in the form of the timer was stuck to 00:00:00:00:00:00:00. It was easier to deal with the death of his soulmate than the scrutinising sympathy passed over to him like table salt. But now it seemed that his brother was eerily right about his assumption.

"You could've touched nearly fifty people by the time you grew delirious," Liam advocated, always the voice of reason. "Comrades, nurses, doctors."

Sighing, he turned away and continued drinking the water. Literally, the only fucking thing remaining.

* * *

The clock was ticking sharp at twelve when Harry finished wrapping all the letters in a bundle, as he resigned to lean back on his bed. He was drugged but that in no manner indicated that sleep came without unease. Anybody who took the oath for their country knew the life they were opting for and the said life in no manner assured any sort of sleep. At least the kind which brought peace with it. All of them had learnt to sleep with one eye open and sometimes not sleep at all.

Glancing around, his gaze lurked over the comrades who were sleeping, hoping disconsolately that he could crawl into a slumber as well. Liam was safe, the news of Niall's death had not reached his ears so he was alive presumptively and Zayn was back in Birmingham where he would remain, protected alongside Shawn. 

As he continued thinking, he noticed the orderlies helping a man onto the bed diagonal to his own. The blond was not happy that much was evident from his visage, his eyes did not cry but tears weren't the only way to express devastation. And Harry was made aware of that the minute he took a breath on the surface.

The man just kept staring at the ceiling until the surgeon who had operated on him walked through. And Harry just quietly observed.

Dragging a wooden chair, he placed it beside the man who was just brought in and handed him a cigarette and lit it up. The man at this point of time had sat up and gave his hand forward to the Omega.

"You're clearly upset," the Omega remarked checking up on the gauze, "What is bothering you, right now?"

With that, the man's temper flared up and he quickly retrieved his hand and offensively glared daggers into the surgeon.

"I have lost a fucking finger, I can't fucking sleep without looking at people's heads or their fucking limbs in my dreams, I have a scar on the side of my face as long as the fucking Thames," he ranted, his words were quick and his frustration, evident, "need I say more?"

"That's quite a lot actually," the doctor responded nonchalantly, as he retrieved his hand to examine, "but I have to correct you that the scar is not gonna be as huge as the Thames."

Lifting his head, he finally looked up at the beta man before him, "All those things are valid reasons for being frustrated but in no manner does it help your situation, Steve."

"I know you feel destructive at this moment but just because you have a scar on your face doesn't mean you must give up hope," the doctor advised, his voice gentle, "these things tell you that you are still fucking alive, you dog, you are alive for you, for the woman who is waiting behind at home."

"I am not asking you to not be vexed by your situation, I am asking you to not give your life into misery because there is still hope and all of us are returning to our homes one day," the doctor completed.

Silence was prevalent in the tent at that point. The wind rumbling through the sheets had resorted to hissing over whispering through the floors and now she made her presence known by the rumbling.

"You should be a politician," Steve suggested with a lot of forethought, "people will positively vote for you."

"An Omega? In the cabinet? What a preposterous proposition!" the said Omega mocked and moved up from his place.

The expression, however, did garner a chuckle from the soldier who asked, "How did you know I had a woman waiting for me?"

"I stitched up your arm when you were brought here," He answered, " you were half-dead by that I mean you were asleep."

"So you saw May's name," he told him with a fondness perfusing in his voice and described the woman who Harry assumed was the fire who kept his heart alive. Red hair with freckles, she had an Irish accent even though she lived in Glasgow nearly all her life. They met when they were sixteen and promised to marry when he returned, the beta reluctantly corrected his sentence and mentioned if he returned. 

"Do you not have an Alpha or a mark?" He questioned out of curiosity.

"That I am afraid is something I cannot share." 

"You knew about May!"

"Well, I did not demand it, did I?" he retorted with a laugh.

"You'll definitely make a good politician."

Harry thought so as well.

* * * 

Harry saw the doctor placing blankets appropriately over everyone before leaving the tent and at that, something in his heart warmed.

The following day saw him being woken up by a gentle nudge than the forces of nature. The orderly who was waking him up had a firm touch but his pace was slow. 

"It's almost noon, sir," the man told the Alpha, "Doctor Tomlinson said we cannot delay your medicines so we need to get you up and running."

"And what Doctor Tomlinson says is the law, is it?" He mumbled with a yawn, raising from his bed, turning towards the orderly, a scrawny boy of maybe nineteen years with freckles all over his skin. By the look of his fingers, it was possible that he was a factory worker before joining the war and the absence of scent told him his secondary gender was mostly Beta.

The orderly assisting him, looked at him with a gaze which spoke with scepticism. shaking his head, "You have no idea how true that is, Sir."

The man helped him to move to the latrines and aided him in washing his face and assisted him back on the bed. After he left him on the bed, he returned with a bowl of soup and a spoon with two additional pills. The man then stood beside him and held the spoon filled with soup toward his mouth.

Harry looked at him with a glare. His eyes propagating his intense disagreement with being treated like an invalid.

"Please refrain from looking at me in that manner, Sir," the man told him, "I am following instructions."

"By treating me like an invalid?" he scowled and ran his fingers through his mane.

"Your shoulder is hurt, Sir. We have been given strict orders to not allow you to use your shoulder at all," he continued with a sigh. "Doctor Tomlinson gave Naomi a very thorough scolding for not aiding you."

Harry rolled his eyes and looked in the direction of the orderly. Grudgingly, he accepted the soup which was being fed to him and noticed a single strand of forget-me-nots on the side of his bed.

"Who kept it there?"

"Doctor Tomlinson did," he answered, as he continued feeding him. "Everyone who goes through surgery from him gets flowers the morning after they wake."

Now, Harry was conflicted. What exactly was this man's characterisation? He stayed up counselling random soldiers and raised their morale while reprimanding his own staff for insignificant mistakes all while ensuring he did not take liberties with anybody.

"Doctor mentioned that he will change the dressing himself," the orderly informed him. "As soon as you finish your tablets."

The man went on adding new facts to his observation about the Omega, "I would have done it myself but the doctor stopped me because of your abdominal injury and-"

"-Who the fuck do you think you are, Omega bitch!" A man who was being dragged in yelled, as he pushed a nurse. "Fucking cunts, all of you, just like those fucking Germans!"

"Sir, you need the medicines," the woman tried to appease him, a gentle intonation but that was when the Omega bust into the room.

"I do not need those fucking medicines!" This time his voice spoke in the Alpha tone and the nurse remained stunned, her fingers curled into a fist with her eyes widened and the distress was spreading through the atmosphere like a plague.

The Omega moved towards the nurse and gently held her hand while the man continued yelling profanities over the gender in his Alpha voice. Leading her outside, it was clear he handed her over to someone responsible to get her out of the trance the voice put her into.

Harry momentarily thought to stand up and throw in a punch or two but he was assured that the Omega could pick his own battles. And these battles were interesting enough to garner his attention.

When he returned, he threw a mean punch right upon his jaw.

"Jesus," Harry whispered.

"Here it's only Louis Tomlinson," the orderly mumbled back.

"If you insist on behaving like a child," Louis glared down at him, "you will be treated as one."

"Who the fuck do you-"

It was cut off by Louis' fingers holding his jaw very firmly, "I don't want to listen to you, you have lost the right to talk."

"There is a fucking war upon us, you can save your hatred for my gender when it is fucking over." He spoke with finality, an air of dominance powerful than any Alpha present, "And if you don't, trust me you do not need to go to the trenches to die, I can do a fine job myself."

"Another word against any of my staff or any omega present here," he threatened, "I'll write a kind letter to Winston Churchill and enlighten him about the loss of your morale and the heightened amount of liability you pose to your comrades."

"Do we have an understanding, Captain?" He questioned, his hand loosening.

"Are you threatening me?" He demanded.

The Omega smirked and shook his head, "I'm assuring you."

"Do we have an understanding?!" Louis repeated.

The Alpha did not respond but unwillingly nodded his head.

Looking at the nurse beside him, he gave a few instructions and moved out of the tent.

"Mesmerising, right?" The orderly asked him while he wore out the shock of the Omega's brilliance.

"You seem like a fan."

"I am."

Harry was beginning to join the club at a very slow consistency as well.

That very evening the same orderly, Brendan had led him to a private tent where Louis was quietly seated on the wooden stool. The cigarette between his finger halfway to its death while the smoke moved through the flap of the tent. 

"Do you need my help, Sir?" asked Brendan, his voice certainly implying he'd be more than happy to indulge him.

"No, thank you, Brendan," he told him off, "I am positive I can manage it on my own."

The Beta moved out and Louis handed half the cigarette to Harry, "Don't tell your doctor that I gave you that."

With an amused smirk, Harry grinned and took the stick while his eyes noticed the Omega mirrored a similar expression. He flipped the flap close and washed his hand and put on his gloves. 

While he did so, Harry's gaze danced upon the white ribbon which draped his wrist.

Reducing the distance between the two of them, Louis closely began to inspect the bandage and very carefully removed the knot.

"You're a tunneler, aren't you?" He asked.

And at that Harry's complete attention was committed to the Omega.

Many of the volunteers were recruited by the Royal Engineering Corps to dig underneath the enemy lines to attack them. Eventually, the fighting began taking place both above the ground and below the earth. With the lack of space and the ease with which poisoning could occur, even though it was a highly respected job, the dangers hardly eluded it. 

"How did you come across that information?" 

"I am very resourceful," Louis muttered, vigilant as he tended to the shoulder, "and your hands gave it away then Captain Payne affirmed it." 

"It's a highly respected job," Louis went on.

Harry scoffed, "It's easier to give respect than earn it."

The Omega paused his finger and let their eyes meet with amusement painted over his face, nodding his head, he returned back to his work.

"When you return to England, you will be commemorated as war heroes and whatnot."

"Do you really believe that we will return home unscathed, mentally or physically or emotionally?"

Louis' eyes met his once again, this time his gaze was more softened, "That is the only thing I am sure I do not believe."

Harry let out a sigh and looked at the floor instead. At this point, with nearly two years into the war, most of the soldiers had forgotten that they had a life beyond the bloodshed and the memories to return to it was more bleak than they were supposed to be. 

"How bad is the pain?" He asked him, his eyes focused now upon the abdomen wound.

"Not much honestly," Harry confessed but then his thoughts moved to the orderly who fed him. "Why am I not allowed to eat on my own?"

Louis sighed and his hand without absolutely no warning whatsoever straightened his shoulder and then bent it back. That initiated a loud undignified scream from the Alpha.

"Get my point?" He asked, glancing up at him while he glared at him, unpleased. "So it would do you good to listen to me and follow whatever I have instructed the orderlies to do so."

"And if I don't?"

"Not my concern, honestly," he replied, nonchalance gripping his voice intimately, continuing to clean the wound with great precision. "Can bring the horse to the pond, can't make him drink, Can I?"

"Not exactly what I saw you doing outside." 

"That was different," Louis shrugged and placed the cotton on the table beside him and retrieving a fresh cloth, "I have to protect the people under me and that asshole was just being, for lack of a better word, an asshole."

"Aye, that he was," Harry agreed and then looked up at him. "Why do you leave the flowers?"

Louis let out a chuckle and forced the dried blood by applying a small amount of pressure. 

"It's a sweet gesture, I guess," he told him, "in the middle of all this."

The Alpha hummed and allowed him to wrap the bandage around him and quietly looked at him. 

"How long until I get back into the field?" 

Louis gave him a look of exasperation, clearly unimpressed at the question, "Alphas."

"I'm not giving you an all-clear until at least two weeks."

"Bullocks!" Harry negated, "That's too fucking long!"

Louis gave him an exasperated look and glared at the Alpha, "See, I know you're reasonable, so listen to me," he told the Alpha, his eyes boring down at him, "you survived an explosion, your back took a bit of strain and even though your abdomen was a superficial shot, your body needs rest."

"Captain Payne mentioned you slept very less as well and detonating bombs puts a lot of stress on you," he listed down. "Returning to the field is not even an option right now."

"Stay in here, yeah?" He repeated, his eyes, big and blue.

Fuck. How was he supposed to say no to those eyes?

"Fine."

"I appreciate that," he told him and tied the last knot.

* * *

Harry spent two days in an unretaliating attempt of rest. Two entire days listening to aeroplanes fly over his head while more soldiers were carted in and out like a record on repeat. Some died, some just remained. There was crying every day because someone lost someone every day but there was also a lovely wave of singing which took place every Saturday. There was dancing on Friday nights, wrestling whenever they had time. And the ever devout Catholic which Louis was recited the Bible the first thing on Sunday mornings. At least that's the information he received from the orderlies.

Louis. Harry was still wondering about the man, there was something so formidable about him that he reflected the Alpha in him in the most twisted manner which could be conceived by the human mind. He was curious about everything which defined the Omega, from what ticked him off to his unhealthy smoking habits. Everything. 

While he kept his book down, he looked at the doctor who had approached his bed. 

"I've been ordered to take you to the wrestling match for a change in scenery," the woman informed him and introduced herself the next moment. "Doctor Taylor Swift, at your service."

Harry looked at her with a quiet gaze and decided to move with her. 

"Doctor Tomlinson sent you?"

"Who else would?" She darted with a grin, waiting up for him. 

With that, Harry continued walking. The sun was peeking through the clouds but was unwilling to come out without assistance. The winds had calmed down during the day with a gentle quietness while the cheering from the extreme right side enlightened them of the direction they must move to.

A pile of layered bricks laid in the periphery. Taylor aided him in climbing it up and made sure he was sitting well and shortly settled down herself. 

Looking up at the vegetation giving them shade, he averted his gaze in the direction of the wrestling ring. The men had just finished one round of it and the next pair was close to begin. To Harry's delight, it was Liam and another way too tall Beta. And even though Harry did not favour watching physical fighting that much, he was interested if his friend was involved.

Harry was already assured that Liam was going to win this. The man was a boxer back at home and he certained victory every time he stepped into the ring.

As they began the match, Harry's eyes flickered to the tendrils of vegetation which were hovering over them. Noting the extension of the plant, he saw wild jasmines bunching over Taylor's shoulders. 

Ignoring his thoughts, he followed the female Alpha's line of sight and grinned at the stoicism which was spread like butter all over her face.

"If you are unable to digest something, you must not coerce yourself," he commented, expressing his amusement.

"Oh, I can digest the fighting all right, I am looking for the blood and more punches," she told him, her ponytail waving in the air.

Harry gave her a smug grin and continued protocoring the fight. Liam threw in quite a many punches but stayed his feet firm on the ground. But eventually, Harry knew Liam was going to rely on his agility over his strength. He moved in with a swift pace and threw his leg over the man's leg and pulled his joint into a lock and pushed him onto the mud ground holding his neck.

"Fucking fantastic your friend is," Taylor supplied and noticed with the ease the Alpha moved out of the ring, Harry nodded as his eyes moved to the ring. Even though he wasn't fond of throwing in punches to ruin his pretty face, he definitely wouldn't mind having a physical altercation for release of frustration.

"Don't even think about taking part in it," Taylor restricted, fishing out a cigarette, "First he'll stab me then make sausages out of your intestine."

Harry chuckled, "How'd you know?"

"It's hard to read you but in the end, we're all the same," Taylor shook his head and let out a smirk, "Alphas."

"Don't stereotype me."

"I won't stereotype you if you admit that you were not thinking that exact thing," she challenged him, raising her eyebrow.

Harry shook his head in amusement and scoffed. Reaching out to the bunch of jasmines, he plucked it from its branch. Allowing his hand to reach it out to Taylor, he placed it on her lap.

"Could you give that to Doctor Tomlinson from my side?" He requested.

To this Taylor's eyebrows furrowed and her blues streaking out in his direction. A smile questioningly raising from her lips, "Why?"

"I don't think anybody gives him flowers."

Taylor just smiled.

* * *

Louis huffed and sat down on his cot. The doctors and nurses had a rotation system for sleeping on the esteemed cot which had been handed over to them. There was one cot available to them and the rest of it went into the field hospital.

Most of them slept on the floor which was draped with thin sheets which were the only veil between the mud and their skin. Blankets, even though were a commodity, they thankfully had enough to cover themselves. Food was generally enough, never too much, sometimes too little but they survived and survival was the only objective in the trenches. 

Louis knew he wouldn't have peace until everyone retired for the night and the shift changed. The nightfall brought him the expensive gift of time with very careful deliberation. Exhaustion had overwhelmed the Omega with overbearing need during the initial days but he learnt to live with it. The more longer they stayed in these hospitals, the more patience was embedded in the man to deal with the world. 

His thoughts were brought to a halt, as Taylor peeked into the tent with a grin plastered on her face. The expression verified that she bore news and the said news was extremely amusing to her but would have an inverse reaction from the Omega.

"What did you do?" He asked, rubbing his temples. 

Age was assuredly just a number because Taylor certainly did not exhibit any signs of maturity. Why did he put up with her, again?

She continued smiling and then held out a bunch of jasmines in his direction. At the course of the action, Louis was taken back. His worries melted away and there was a dawn of a smile on Louis' face. 

"If I knew a bunch of flowers would bring yer smile," Taylor told him in a matter of fact manner, "I would have brought you a fucking bouquet."

"If it is Alpha Stone, you might as well take that the fuck back," he warned her, his hands dropping onto his side.

"Not Stone," she smiled and gestured him to take it, "Sergeant Major Harry Styles."

Louis felt his throat drying up while his tongue went limp searching for a snarky remark. His fingers slowly coiled around the main stalk while his gaze remained in quiet conquest of drinking the flowers in his grasp. The scent permeating had been faint but strong enough to trail up to Louis' nose. 

Allowing a gulp to suffocate in his throat, he felt a blush rising all over his neck and painting his cheeks. 

This man was his mate. His soulmate. He was unaware of how God and his mysteries worked but whoever oversaw him had been benevolent if not cruel and given him a mate when he had accepted his fate. And that brought upon his rage in waves, he did not need someone when he had nothing to lose. He did not require a liability, his sister who was serving in Verdun satiated the necessity in a perfect manner but a mate would overthrow everything he had worked for. The soldier was thankfully still unaware of the truth of their circumstances. It did not in any manner negate his concern.

"Lou?" Taylor's voice shook him and redirected his attention towards her, "Is anything wrong? Do you harbour feelings for this man?"

That was the problem. He did not know and he was dreading to find out.

"I don't know, Tay," he sighed, his eyes moving away, unwilling to meet her penetrative gaze.

"Oi!" she snapped and held her hand out, "come on here."

And for once Louis listened to her and accepted her ridiculous scheme of _a hug makes everything_ better. He wasn't going to accept it actually did.

When they parted away, Naomi was standing at the flap of the tent and when she left after taking her orders from Louis. 

"Mark my words," Taylor warned, her voice bordering amusement, "everyone will know that by tomorrow morning we will be wed."

"And by the end of the week, we will have children," Louis added with a serious demeanour instigating the waves of laughter from the Alpha, as he joined her and exited the tent.

* * *

Nightfall came and so did precipitation. Thankfully it was in the form of a drizzle instead of a complete storm. Louis sent his prayer to the Lord for the crude nature of his kindness, as he geared up to go for his midnight walk.

Pausing before the Sergeant's tent, he moved into the establishment for inspection and noticed nearly everyone was fast asleep except one particular oil lamp which was still burning with fury.

Sighing, he moved in the direction of the lamp and stood at the foot of his bed with his expression mirroring that of a disappointed mother. Placing the book down, Harry turned in his direction and attempted to reflect the same expression. 

"You're sick," Louis apprised with his lips pursed, noticing him returning to the back.

"My doctor believes that, not me."

"There is a clear reason he is the doctor and you are not."

"Lapse of judgement of whosoever mentored him is what I would say," he continued responding.

"If you are finding it hard to sleep, you can join me in a stroll," Louis suggested and added for safety measures, "if your heart desires so."

The very brief moment of silence made Louis verbally berate himself for being so needy.

"And my doctor would encourage that idea?" The mirth in his voice falling like droplets of water from a tumbler.

"Of course, he would not," Louis sparred, "I would be sneaking you out."

"Sneaking me out, aye?" He placed the book over his lap again. "Then we best be quick."

After moving out of the tent, Louis felt a warmth blossom in his heart. In his attempt to sabotage the overwhelming wave of emotions, he attempted a conversation.

"Thank you for the flowers," he said to him, glancing at the Alpha.

"You're welcome," he responded, his voice firm, "I assumed Alpha Swift had stolen the credit."

Louis chuckled, "Don't listen to any rumours spread by Naomi, she is a gossip and hardly are any of her assumptions right."

"So you aren't pregnant with Alpha Swift's child and betraying us to the germans?"

At this, Louis' giggles were untamed at the accusation and this time something warmed itself in Harry's chest.

"She is wild with her conspiracies, is she not?"

Harry nodded his head and turned to question him, "Who did you apprentice under?" 

"Elizabeth Anderson? Are you aware of her?"

"I thought she had retired," he remarked and looked at him in realisation. "How even did you convince her?"

"She did but I am anything if not persistent," he shrugged, shaking his head. "I chased her from Glasgow to Birmingham and finally caught her in London."

Harry looked at him with a look which eerily reflected admiration. 

"Your determination is very attractive, has anybody told you that?" Harry asked him, holding the lamp up to Louis' visage, his eyes maintaining the azure gaze in consistency.

Louis' smile was like the light before sunrise, faint and breezy, delicately hopeful and gave new beginnings to Harry's life.

"That's the first time I've heard that version of it," Louis told him in riposte. "It's usually, an Alpha should teach you your place."

"You should," Harry concurred, instigating the Omega to frown, "the Alpha should ensure you learn the ways of affection and not abscond the core of your kindness, he should worship you for the person you are."

"The only other place you should be given is one beside an Alpha," he added, causing Louis to halt unexpectedly in his walk but forced his limbs to carry on. 

"Your Omega can at least expect that," he told him off.

"I don't have one," Harry responded and continued stringing his words, "or at least he or she doesn't know me."

"But your finger has a soulmark, doesn't it?" Louis validated, knowing exactly in which direction he was steering the conversation.

"It does," he assented, "but I had a timer before that, the clock was at zero and it remained a timer until I came here."

Louis rejected the vehement need to bite his lip in guilt. Alternatively, he sculpted his face into flawless stone of concern. 

"So you do not know who touched you?"

Harry shook his head with a defeated sigh.

"Are you seeking them out?" Louis asked next.

Harry shook his head once again and turned to the Omega, the windy night swaying their shawls. The moonlight still refrained from gracing anybody due to her veil.

"Maktub, Doctor Tomlinson," he pronounced the word with a frail enunciation, "It means that it is written, all our experiences are directed by something higher than us. If we must meet, we will, the fate which gave me this mark will lead me to them."

Louis' was growing more enchanted, as he spent more time in Harry's company and he could vouch that it had been hardly a few minutes. His defences were weakening with his words and his learned skills.

"That's a formidable amount of patience and trust."

"It's all I can offer my Omega with an exception of the world."

Louis felt that the thread which Harry had been tugging on opened the corset of his innermost feelings. And if one conversation reconstituted his composure to such a grave fragility, he was terrified what a day would do to him. 

His heart had been so delicately wound with numerous thorns. He dictated their growth and he could hardly relinquish control over his entire existence at the hands of an Alpha. An Alpha he had no clue about. There weren't servants or lackeys he could just order around to stalk him and the uncertainty of it all made him feel, for the first time in his life, afraid. 

"Louis?" Harry beckoned him, meandering further ahead.

"Yes," he replied, "I'm here."

They walked in compatible silence allowing the moon to govern their rendezvous while the stars gleamed over their conversation to report back to the chiming fates. Because more than the Alpha and Omega, they knew. They knew that this had happened before, they knew their light wouldn't shine over the pair through the days they spent with one another, they knew a star would breathe their last in a feeble venture to assure that their love remained under their protection, they knew there would be agony which burnt the sun to anguish and in his wrath the world would suffer. They were twice blessed but the pain would come and the pain would stay but they would have one another if destiny was kind and they would have the fragrance of the flowers they bore.

A love which moves the sun and the other stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update : 26th June.


	2. Aphrodite's Fear

On the third day, Jesus rose again. On the third day, the Germans also decided to bomb random hospital sites and their own was one amongst them.

Four tents filled with soldiers and a handful of nurses lost their lives. Many orderlies layered the floor, their blood splayed all around with the remnants of their bodies torn. The tents were burning with their carcasses falling down upon the people inside. The remaining people were transported to the other tents on the outskirts of the camp while removing the little belongings they could.

Wails circulated like rumours and water was being splashed upon the raging fires of the tents. People were ushered and evacuated into a safer haven while they waited for the rescue team to arrive.

Harry was moving around the affected areas with the other Captains to aid them in scanning for survivors. There was a vague sense of dread lurching in Harry's stomach. It had been there when he woke up in the morning and remembered the previous night's events and was strengthened when the bombing occurred. Harry had luckily moved to use the latrines when it took place.

In due course, Liam found him while he was helping the survivors reach medical assistance and directing the others to evacuate the area. The man had been asked by the other Sergeant Major and reached the nearest telephone to call for help to the nearing stations. And Liam returned with a little ration and more news. He told that the nearby battle stations nearby have been struck as well. Aid may take time.

"Time is the one thing none of us possess," Harry muttered and gently placed the man on the floor with Liam's help. "Why don't we transfer the injured into the cycle camps?"

Every camp had a separate tent which was visibly distanced from the cluster of tents for people to spend their mating cycles in. It was a well thought out addition and an absolute necessity. 

"I second with you on that, Sergeant," another comrade mentioned, "there is no Omega or Alpha in their mating cycle right now." 

"Makes sense," Stone agreed with a slow shake of his head, "I'll need verification if the tents are actually empty."

"I'll go find Swift," Liam suggested.

"Louis might know better-" Stone alternated but then looked at Liam, "-where is he though?"

"-I'm not sure," Liam responded.

"He is alive, right?" Stone interrogated.

"He wasn't amongst the dead," another soldier reported, "that's something I am relatively sure."

"For fuck's sake, assure that he ain't dead," Stone scowled, aggravation clear on his face and intonation, "we really cannot afford the loss of medical practitioners at this point." 

Stone was an annoying man. He was ridiculously tall, nearing to Harry's own height, had dirty blonde hair and a foul mouth. Back in England, he was a part of the High society of London for what exact reason, Harry was unaware. He was an Alpha as well so the tendency for him to be an excruciating source of irate heightened. 

Harry was trying his best to scan through the crowds to search for a tiny feathered haired man and the more time it was taking for him to locate the Omega, the more his heart quenched. He just wanted the word of mouth that his Omega was alive. 

One night wasn't enough, even by a measure. He wanted to spend more of his time with the Omega, it was unrealistic in the current situations and circumstances but he could always hope. It was imperative to hope. 

And with that, he turned to scourge through everyone who passed by. A stretcher moved in the periphery while Alpha Stone directed the other soldiers to collect the people who fell and prepare wagons for their burials.

Harry sighed and moved towards the camp where there were casualties and got to work alongside the other nurses. Things he could do with ease like cleaning wounds up and stitching them up. While he protracted, his eyes briefly turned to the side of the bowl which had water. 

"Do you want me to change the batch of water?" A voice questioned and his eyes darted in the direction of the man.

Louis.

The relief which flooded through his body was embarrassing. His eyes scanned his person, as he stood up. He had a cut over his cheekbone, his coat was covered with soot and his hair was messed up but Harry could not find words to describe his alleviation at his sight. Harry just stood before him without uttering anything as an offering. His eyes were quietly taking in the man and his beauty, the fact that he was there. He was alive and breathing beside him.

"Louis! There you are!" Stone yelled.

This man was treading on thin ice and it was a wonder Harry had not killed him yet.

"I wanted to ask you if the cycle tents-" he abruptly stopped and turned to Louis, moving down to his neck he took a sniff initiating a vexed response.

"What do you think you are doing?" Louis snapped, leaning over to Harry's side.

"You're nearing to your heat."

"What?" he questioned, his eyes looking at him and attempted to smell his wrist but at his failure turned towards Harry, his distress reaching out in an attempt for a solution.

Harry wasn't oblivious, he took the distress with immense responsibility before pride. Looking at the Omega, he asked meaningfully, "May I?"

Louis assented in the form of a deliberate nod. Harry lowered himself and hovered his nose near the side of his neck. Taking a whiff of his scent, Harry forced himself to be objective about the venture. Louis' smell was a very faint smell of jasmines topped with the freshness of lemon. If he could describe it, he would call it exquisite and refreshing.

"You are nearing to your cycle, Doctor Tomlinson," he authenticated and thoughtfully supplied, "it will take a few hours for the effect though."

"Fuck," Louis sighed, his exasperation moving through and looked at him, "my cycles are very long, so-"

"-I don't mind helping you with it," Stone offered, his lips twisting suggestively.

"Can you kindly shut up for a moment?" He asked, his sarcasm scalding hot, "There are people who are actually working here." 

"I need a pen and paper," he told Harry, "I'll give you the list of things you're supposed to do right now."

Harry generally did not take well to people bossing him because he was the one who did it and secondly he did not have any faith in another person's efficiency. But this one time he let Louis aid him, the Omega actually knew better.

When he received the instruments he dotted the instructions down, as quickly as possible. Detailing the medicines and equipping Taylor with the necessary knowledge about most of the patients. He then went over the rationing and other essentials which were supposed to come over to Harry and Liam. 

"I'll go to the tents then," he decided after handing the sheets of paper over.

"May I accompany you?" Harry asked him, respectful of his boundaries.

Louis' lips flicked upward and slowly nodded his head, "Yes, please."

Harry guided him away from the crowds and held himself close to the Omega, careful of any other proclivities. "How long does your cycle last?"

"Five days."

"That's extensive."

"It is."

"And you find it uncomfortable to spend it with an Alpha or you just choose not to?"

Louis chuckled and gave him a pained smile, "I don't trust people."

Harry raised his eyebrow and shook his head, "I understand, my younger brother is similar as well."

"You have a younger brother?" Louis asked amusedly. 

"Two," he corrected him, and continued opening up, "Niall is in Verdun and Zayn is back in England."

"And you?" He asked subsequently.

"Aldrin passed away two months ago and Charlotte is still serving in Verdun," he revealed, making Harry's heart clench very briefly.

"I am so sorry for your loss."

"Don't be," Louis sighed, his suppression visible in his breath. "We knew the risks the three of us were taking."

Harry wondered about the mysteries of the universe occasionally when he was in a seemingly good mood. While he retrospected, he questioned quite many things. Why did the stars glimmer only in the night? Why did the wind blow the clouds into a dance? Why was Louis Tomlinson so overtly mature about everything when his eyes betrayed the truth of what he said?

His beauty had astounded him, his eyes had mesmerized him, his words wrapped themselves around his heart but there was this upset surrounding him like an aura. And Harry wanted to know, he wanted to know everything about him. 

"Are you truly that insensitive or your hurt cannot be voiced out?" Harry probed, his curiosity getting the better of him. 

Louis' eyes were very quiet and the brief discomfort which flashed through his visage did not go unnoticed as well. His eyebrows remained calm while his lips pursed in retaliation, silence had taken over his tongue and response did not seem to make itself known until Harry was moving in for an apology.

"Mourning is a private emotion, isn't it?" He questioned, "I don't see the point in showing that I am mourning for someone just for their satisfaction."

Harry gave a moment to let the words sink in and continued, "You think crying is redundant?"

"I can't speak for crying since I've never cried over anything in my life but I don't think expressing any emotion is redundant just because I express it in a different light."

"What do you mean by the fact you haven't cried?"

"I mean exactly that," Louis answered him firmly, his eyes expressing his thoughts, "I have never cried, I don't remember the last time I cried because I'm positively sure it was when I was an infant."

Harry stared at him, point blank and when Louis' gaze didn't wither, he realised he was earnest in his confession and hadn't just made an estimation out of it.

"I didn't cry when my parents died out of illness or when my aunt jumped to her death or anytime for that matter," he confessed, "I just find it hard to cry."

"That's very-"

"-queer?" Louis completed.

Harry tilted his head and it was apparent that he wasn't consenting to this, "Not at all, it is what it is," he told him, "sometimes things just are, they're different indefinitely but we can't categorize them to a fixed spectrum."

Louis was quiet, drenching himself with words uttered and simultaneously dissecting them with great accuracy. Shifting between an attempt to sense sympathy and to evaluate unadulterated judgement. 

"I see."

On arriving at the tent, Louis shook his head and quietly averted his gaze to the floor, "Please, take care of your dressings and wounds, refrain from heavy lifting as well."

"Go," Harry beckoned, his grin coming off with a boyish charm.

After Louis turned to move to the tent, Harry felt his heart clench for an Omega he wasn't even sure was his.

* * *

Louis' heat did last five days. But for once in his life, it had brought him discomfort. His heat in London was treated as an event which resembled a retreat. He was holed up in his room and the upper floor would be segregated completely from visitors. His heat gave him freedom and peace. Not something people generally described a mating cycle but Louis preferred his company over others and for the workaholic he was, he wouldn't spend time in his worldly pursuits. So whenever his heat came by, he would immerse himself in reading and painting or having a long undisturbed sleep which is not called death. He had enough sympathy for being born of a rare secondary gender and expeditiously manoeuvred more of it when his timer was stuck.

Louis liked it that way. He knew the power and control he had over his body and his fragile disposition, as people liked to call it and he would be outrightly lying if he admitted, he did not gain pleasure from it. Being in power and control exhilarated him and he put in enough efforts to keep it. 

And he did keep it, avoiding Alphas at every step of his life had been hard which is why he made the iron in his blood strong enough to stand up to one rather than avoiding one. His tongue was sharp and his attitude did not bear any flavours of ambiguity, that generally steered most Alphas away.

Therefore, he took back that power by lifting himself up. He did not need a knight, he had seen enough of those tragedies, he needed no moral compass, he had no fixed personality, just an inner decisiveness which was wide as the ocean. He belonged to absolutely no one but at the same time, he served everyone. His thirst for freedom and power had begun to haunt his own thoughts and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, which brought him more stability. 

Harry Styles' presence was a threat to it all. He was a good Alpha, positively but he made the firm foundation of his mind shamble. He shackled his rational with his positively good looks and slithered his way to his heart without just pretty words and he knew, he knew deep down there was more to him than his sophisticated world views. However, the knowledge of it was not in any manner satisfactory to prevent him from remembering the Alpha constantly.

Harry was intelligent, of that he had no doubt but he had a war on his mind. He was thoroughly reformed with edges which were as sharp as his own tongue. His fingers were the ones which braided destinies but with blood and tears. His lupine tongue spoke truths of truths only to assure that the other person burst opens his ribs and allow him to take the heart out of courtesy. 

Harry Styles had a chameleon soul. 

He had no home. He believed home to be wherever you laid your head, he searched for safety in other people and was broken into a million different stars when they all were always the _same_. He was used to it, he felt no pain. He had nothing but wanted everything with a fire for experience. He believed in the open road, believed in the person he would become and he believed that there was peace found in vengeance.

And if Louis said his entire existence stood against Harry's, the world would hand him a mirror.

If paradoxes existed they had to stem from the same source and go through different paths to bring about a magnificent change and if they ever collided, there would be an explosion. Loud enough to rattle the rhythm of people's blood. And those two reflections were them.

Staring at the ceiling of the tent, he reeled his thoughts back into place. Whatever Harry was, he derived his values from the same place Louis did, a broken fortress of nothingness which lead to nothing but glory. The Alpha bred familiarity but that did not validate him to be so easily let into Louis' shell. 

Realistically, even if he was interested in an Alpha, he would make the man wait. Louis would drawl out an exhaustive courtship, test him in all aspects which were required for his survival and then consider to allow himself to feel for the person. 

Harry didn't let him do that and it was both unnerving and exciting.

The more he tried to reign his emotions, the more they were splashing everywhere. 

And Louis couldn't in any manner give in to that.

A voice broke through the tent shattering his train of thought. He let out a sigh and asked Taylor to come through. 

"I'm getting you a private tub here," she told him with a smile. "You look like you need a bath."

"Thank you," he returned her smile, "I really do need it."

"And I come bearing presents," Taylor told him wriggling her eyebrows. 

He side-eyed the woman, as she sat down beside his laying figure. Keeping the bunch of flowers beside him, he looked back at Taylor.

"Who gave those?"

"Harry, of course," she winked, "and if I must stress, he was pretty cranky without you."

"You're making things up," Louis shook his head and let his fingers glide over the jasmines brought to him. 

"For once, I actually am not."

"For once?"

"Yes," Taylor told him. "Kept himself completely busy, helped everyone and their mothers and also cooked."

"He didn't do any lifting, right?"

"Not at all."

"Good, I can clear him for duty sometime sooner."

"Louis," Taylor smiled, nudging him while poking his cheek, "I think he missed you."

"Maybe I did too."

* * *

Louis was avoiding Harry like the plague.

Harry observed that conveniently well enough. He was unaware of the treason he had committed against the Omega but was clutching onto perhaps the fact that it wasn't an accident that he ended up in their camp.

Harry had been sent to this camp specifically because they knew someone was parading as an English soldier but was a spy from the Germans. Even though he was going to end up in this specific camp by the orders of the higher-ups, it was a welcome disguise that he had been bruised up and brought in by Liam. The pretence wasn't even required. It was easy to see a beaten up patient than a formidable Sergeant Major. 

But the anomaly was Louis. He knew there was something about him which connected the Omega to him. And it was definitely underneath the ribbon on his wrist. 

His mind wavered to the Omega's skittish behaviour once again. It had hardly been two days since his heat concluded, five days since the bombing and three since Harry had successfully imprisoned the spies. He wasn't aware there were more than one but he very well scraped all of them and packaged them to the centre for information after beating them unconscious.

He knew now that he had accomplished his order, he will inevitably be shifted to another site. As soon as possible. And he would leave Louis back here. His heart wanted to stay with the Omega but he knew his responsibilities well enough to part away silently. 

"Are you going to go inside or waste away all your thoughts by staring at the entrance?" Stone questioned behind him waking him up from his contemplation. 

Harry stepped inside alongside Stone into Louis' tent. He was made aware that all the letters which were dropped off were in the custody of Louis. Most of the people had been delivered the letters already except for him and Stone.

"Why are you here?" Louis darted as soon as he saw Stone's face. "There isn't a letter for you."

"Can I not drop by to just know about your welfare?" Stone pouted.

"No."

Stone chortled and patted Harry's back, "He is funny, aren't you, Darlin?"

Louis rolled his eyes and moved his gaze to search through the letters while commenting, "I have a scalpel in my pocket and have half a mind to stab you, so get out."

"Louis, I just-"

"-I am not in the presence of my mind to let you go out alive if you don't escort yourself out and do something useful."

"I am a Major, I am always doing something useful."

"That's why an Alpha who just arrived at our camp recognised spies before you did it."

"He had intelligence which led him here."

"Something you clearly don't have," Louis muttered under his breath.

Stone looked like he was punched in the gut. An embarrassing flush over his cheeks, as he stared at Louis. He huffed and quickly exited the camp under the pretext of indignity.

"I presume you have a letter for me," Harry questioned.

Louis nodded and handed him the envelope and Harry did not waste time in tearing it open. It was from Verdun and the last thing he wanted was that the content contained the death of his friends from his town or worse, Niall.

Scanning through the illegible writing, he let his shoulders gently relaxed and his eyes flickered to Louis who looked at him expectantly.

"My brother is alive," he informed him, initiating a look of satisfaction from the doctor.

"That's great news," he appreciated and looked up at him. "I need to take your leave, there's an operation I must get to."

Harry did not know what triggered him to overly disregard his boundaries and the manners bestowed upon him. It was almost instinctual. His hand reached out to Louis' fingers and held the tiny finger causing his whole body to freeze at warmth. A small touch but the intensity of it overruled a storm which Louis' eyes possessed, the walls in his eyes were melting and the rate of it alarmed the Omega. 

"Are you all right?"

Louis let out a breath and very reluctantly allowed himself to admit, "I don't know."

Louis retrieved his hand instantly after that and fled from the room leaving Harry and the Jasmines hidden in his pocket alone to the silence of the wind.

Harry did not deign to chase him after that. He knew Louis was fleeing from something and to catch him would have diverse effects on both of them. So he let him run, as fast as he could and with the same amount of passion he had for the Omega. But deep down he knew, he knew that Louis knew as well that running wasn't freedom.

So he waited. The next night, by something he would call the twist of fate, made the two of them sit beside one another with Stone tragically on the opposite. 

After devoutly letting out a prayer, they started eating the soup before them. Louis remained quiet, as he drank his soup. Conversation bubbled around them while they maintained their focus on the food and Stone was trying to grasp Louis' attention once again by boasting his abilities to anybody who would lend an ear.

When he was done boasting about himself, he averted the attention to Harry and began an interrogation on his life.

"So Harry what did you do back in England?" He probed. 

"We have a family business," Harry responded curtly.

"So do I, lad but in what?"

"Your business, Gabriel," Taylor muttered in a matter of fact manner, "is wasting and whiling away your time by doing absolutely nothing useful."

"Oh, come off it, Taylor," he shrugged and waved his hand, "what's the use of your privilege of you can't spend your time being lazy?"

"There is a line, a very thin line between lazy and incompetent," Louis added on to his friend's comment.

Ignoring Louis' comment, he beckoned for Harry to continue, "Bookmaking."

At that Louis raised an eyebrow and looked in the Alpha's direction, "Gambling?"

"Yes."

"That's a bit unrefined don't you think?" Stone alternated.

"So is your attitude towards Omegas but I don't think we talk about that, do we?" Harry snapped, garnering everyone's attention on the table.

He returned his focus onto the soup and placed his left hand on his thigh. Gabriel Stone was making it difficult for Louis to breathe. His consistent effort to woo the Omega or whatever the fuck his motives were in regards to Louis were, they were failing. Quite spectacularly.

The indifference he harboured was riveting if nothing, Louis was not affected by any Alpha. He stood like a cliff against any of the tides which dared cross him, firm in his stance, tolerating nothing except for respect. If it was anything, it was incredibly attractive to Harry. But with the fact that he was nearly sure that Louis hid his soulmark beneath the ribbon, he tied around his left wrist. 

Harry was curious if nothing but he was also dignified. Being a marginalised race generally did not sanction for dignity from anybody. Add the fact that they were not inherently rich was another fantastic addition to the medals his family carried. So he knew, he needed to buy it. Everything could be bought if there were a buyer and a price. Dignity fell into the things with a price as well.

So he bought his way up and he was still climbing. It got lonely sometimes, being at the top but that did in no manner deter him from his goal.

But between all his elaborate scheming and planning, Germany had to fuck up and he had to volunteer. Zayn was in charge of the business, he was smart enough to handle it while he was away. The business had been the last thing on his mind until Louis waltzed in with his perfect face and perfect eyes and his heart made of stone only to crack into gold and let the stars envy the divinity of his existence. He held his fort with resilience by breaking Harry's own by just glancing at him.

"I have concluded dinner," Louis declared and turned towards Taylor. "You can handle the patients, right?"

Taylor looked like a deer caught in headlights. The unanticipated requisition threw her off but she assented to it, as soon as she processed the information.

Harry did not chase after him.

Again.

* * *

Verdun was no different from their own camp. In fact, they had more casualties and the war front there was gruesome if not anything. Bombs rained down like mercy and bullets stabbed through every soldier who trudged around there and he was called to the place by his dying sister.

When the letter came, it only mentioned her ill health but the moment they asked for his presence, he knew there was something wrong. And there was a chance that his younger sister may not survive this attack. 

Charlotte was an Alpha who was frighteningly resourceful, she climbed the ranks fast but with an efficiency which could not be questioned. He presumed it was a piece of cake to replace Louis with another surgeon for a few days and drag not only him but Taylor along as well.

On arriving at the camp, respect was instantly given, as soon as he mentioned his name, people cleared up for him in the blink of an eye. Louis was escorted with the utmost dignity. Taylor had been separated from him by another officer informing him that Charlotte wanted to speak to him in private. The Alpha was very respectful and assured Louis that she would find him. With that, he was escorted into deeper chambers and noticed the dignity which was instantly given to him and the propriety with which all the Alphas greeted him.

 _This is what you were running from._ A voice at the back of his head informed him. _This is what you did not desire that's why you ran in the direction of the freedom and you're still running._

Shaking his head away from his thoughts, he stopped before a large entrance which seemingly led in the direction of the hall. 

"She is on the fourth bed on your left," the man informed him.

Nodding, he stepped inside. The smell which perforated was awful. Rotten flesh, as if it was burnt and an acid like pungency prevailing in the atmosphere. His eyes showed him lines and lines of neverending beds filled with patients who seemed like victims of mustard gas.

As he navigated through the beds, he saw his sister laying down on the bed she had made. Dragging a wooden chair, he placed himself beside her. Everything down from her neck was burnt with what he assumed was mustard gas. 

"I had half a mind you wouldn't turn up," Charlotte chortled but began to cough instead.

"I had half a mind to not turn up but then I realised if I need the property papers on my name, I have to struggle into your good graces," he responded back.

At that, Charlotte let out a heartful laugh, loud enough to remind him of the clinking of vessels against their cabinets, "Aye."

"You don't need to worry about it though," Charlotte reassured him, wiping off the fluid on her cheek. "Even with the tragedy of your gender, I gave very specific instructions to my lawyer in the case of such an eventuality."

"Thank God," Louis bit back and added. "After you die I am going to do something so horrendous with all of the properties, all of you will roll in your graves."

Charlotte let out another string of giggles and began coughing again, "Help me up."

He did.

"I wonder why Aldrin wasn't as humorous as you," she complained, as she sat up, "his company was so dreadful sometimes. Too sombre for being merry."

"Al worried about all of us."

"That he did, that is why he was the first one to plunge into death so he could haunt us."

This time Louis grinned and looked at her, "Do you miss him?"

"Every day of my life."

"I did not think I would miss him but I was very hurt when I received the news," Louis told her. 

Charlotte looked at him with a touch of melancholy he did not know existed in her. She was beautiful and had a very sharp mind. Charlotte was determined and could make anybody bend to her own will and he very well knew that but right now there was something breaking inside of her like a rope held together by a string.

"How long do you have?" Louis questioned her.

"A day if I am lucky, a few hours if am not," she smiled, her blonde locks falling to drape her face, continuing to cough, "There is no way out."

Louis' gaze lowered, as he sighed before her. 

"Do not while your time away by being upset right now," she advised him, her expression serious, "if you want to apologise to me for putting sugar in my bathtub when we were thirteen, now would be a perfect time."

"Hell, no." Louis shook his head and let out a giggle.

Holding her hand out, she wrapped her fingers around his hand, "How have you been?"

"I am fine, working, steering clear of Alphas who are attracted to me, fighting the gender bias, the usual," Louis bit back.

"How many of these interested Alphas are in your favour?" 

Louis scowled and looked at her with a frown all over his face, "Even on your deathbed, that is the most pressing topic?"

"You need an Alpha by your side, pet," she argued back with him.

"Trust me. I do not."

Charlotte paused and looked at him with exasperation on her face. Her annoyance wasn't very apparent but her worry was. 

"Louis, is it your arrogance talking or is it a genuine desire?" She countered, her eyes bearing into his.

Louis silenced himself at that question. It was not either of the two. There hadn't been a single moment in his life when an Alpha made him feel like an equal. He was always badgered about how an Alpha would _allow_ him to do things he did with a tone of astonishment. If he ever had a conversation with an Alpha without him enquiring him of his marital status. Nobody sought him out for his qualities, they just wanted to place a price on his emotions because they were looking for something to buy.

_Except for Harry. He saw you for who you were._

"Who is it?" She questioned, her eyes darting a look in his direction. 

Shaking his head, his shoulder rose in faux pretence, "I have no idea who you're talking about."

"There is someone," Charlotte coughed, her eyes focused on Louis, "you had that look which said that you're considering."

"Bullocks."

"Who is it?" she pressed on, "Can you not be kind to your dying sister?"

Louis rolled his eyes, "There is no need for kindness as there isn't anybody."

She raised her eyebrows and let out a sigh of exasperation. "I have excluded Melody from the will and she will be orphaned instantly if you do not tell me of this Alpha."

Louis looked mortified at the information which was divulged.

"She is my cat and you have no right to do that!" Louis snapped, garnering looks from the patients nearby.

"Spill."

"He is much nicer than you for starters," Louis threw at her, huffing which caused the Alpha to burst into laughter and simultaneously get yelled at for the noise.

"Your cat is fine."

"I know."

Her expression remained amused and the smile did not fade away as she continued to scrutinise the Omega, "Tell me that he is wealthy, at the least a Baron." 

"I am not aware but according to another Alpha who is jealous of him, he is the leader of a gang."

"Jesus Christ, Louis!" She yelped, "A gang? As in an illegal enterprise owner?"

"That's the most refined version I have heard but yes."

"No." She firmly declared, "One Alpha who you actually liked and he is a part of some street gang."

"Not if I invest your dead money into it," he smirked and pleasingly leaned away.

"I will actually crawl in my grave."

"Pleased."

Lottie furrowed her eyebrows and stared at the Omega, "He isn't a part of a gang, is he?"

"Not that I know of it," Louis smiled, a very sly smile.

"You gave me a heart attack," Lottie told him.

"Glad to be of service."

Lottie shook her head in dismay and continued her questionnaire, "Does he treat you well?"

_' The Alpha should ensure you learn the ways of affection and not abscond the core of your kindness, he should worship you for the person you are.'_

"Better than most of the Alphas I have met over my lifetime."

"Does he have a soulmark?"

At that Louis briefly paused, he did not know what to respond in this situation. Harry was his soulmate, he was relatively positive about that but how could he explain that to his sister.

"Louis," she nudged, squeezing his hand. 

"He is my soulmate, the timer on his hand changed after I touched him."

Lottie widened her eyes at that statement. Astonishment rippling all over her face and painting a pleasing look over her visage.

"That is great news," Lottie countered him, "I am so happy for you."

"That is the thing isn't it?" Louis questioned, inhaling a deep breath, "Except for me everyone is happy for me."

"Louis, no," her voice gentled through the atmosphere, pausing, she began coughing harder causing the Omega to pour a glass of water for her. 

As she finished drinking the water, she continued, "Fate never knocks the wrong door, you may not be ready to answer yet."

"What if I never want to answer?" Louis threw at her, his vehemence, very clear in the intonation of his voice.

"Nonsense," she waved her hand in disagreement. "Louis, we are all desperate for love, all of us have the inherent need to feel wanted and loved and this need is not segregated by gender."

"He isn't that great."

"And Denial is a river in Egypt." 

Lottie's arm stretched out to his shoulder, her grip was very frail but it had familiarity in them, "Louis, after all this is over," she pointed out to the war and her destruction, "go back to your books and to your fireplace, allow yourself to plant some trees and take pleasure in watching them grow."

"Hold onto those who feel like home," she told him, her eyes smiling at the Omega. "Take a step in his direction, he will run to you, if he is truly your soulmate."

They spoke briefly after that, reliving old memories and incidents alike. Discussing their pets and their behaviour. When he left, he parted with the knowledge that there was a possibility that he wouldn't see her the following morning. And his heart was heavy with reluctance over it.

He felt an overwhelming amount of despair. Regardless of their irreparable differences, she was still his younger sister. And the conversation which harboured in his mind was frequently moving in the direction of his said soulmate. 

Charlotte may have given him wise deathbed advice but there was a string of thoughts which were still hindering him from committing to any thoughts of Harry. The Alpha was always on his mind but it didn't change the fact that deep down in his soul he was so very afraid of being loved or cared for. 

A bird which is caught eventually sees the metal cage as its home even if it belongs to the vicious skies. 

Louis was concerned that he would end up in a similar situation if he let his walls down.

* * *

Louis was working an eighteen-hour shift.

He ate intermittently but that was all it was. Charlotte passed in her sleep, the following evening. After her funeral, everything changed. His insides were churning and a sense of anxiety always prevailed around him. His work life wasn't affected but his mind seemed like a battlefield. There was always a sense of guilt that only he survived but he presumed God would be kind and ease him off it, although he hardly sensed it.

And of course, he did not cry.

Taylor had tried everything in her power to make him talk but all he did was ignore everyone who wasn't a patient. A week after the letters had arrived, Louis was summoned at Verdun for a brief time period with Taylor. 

The shifts in Verdun were laxer than the ones in their own camp. It was easy to navigate around the place as well and Louis' reputation preceded him well enough to allow very few people to inconvenience him. 

Taylor was still incessantly hovering around him for his well being. And as much as he appreciated her concern, he just wanted to stay alone. But of course, Madam Alpha had differing plans and had rented fucking bicycles from God alone knows where and had planned an afternoon expedition with another few nurses under the pretext of receiving equipment for surgery. 

The exact reason why they had arrived three hours early. 

The village was tiny. Barely a settlement but it had a few shops and a number of houses, a farming field and quite a number of wells. 

Descending from his bicycle, Louis walked through the stone laden path with Taylor on his side. She hastily took his leave and mentioned she actually had to meet up with the troops. Before leaving she assured he was going to be around and would not get into trouble no matter what.

"Yes, mother," he muttered, rolling his eyes while she ruffled his hair and took his leave with another man. 

Louis was left to his own devices. He quietly trudged around the place.

He let his eyes trace through the women who drew the water from the wells while they kept their eyes vigilant at the intrusion of any outside forces. The worry on their faces testified their emotions. They didn't want the war but if Louis could give it a thought who even wanted the war, nobody would willingly go into combat leaving their perfectly comfortable lives. But the choice had been made and everyone he met was going to reflect the effects of the war, either in their smiles or in their eyes.

Trudging further, he saw an iron gate opened to a cottage with neatly knitted flowers hovering all over in its path. The shrubs flanked his way inside and his eyes ran through the plants blooming in complete glory. Hibiscus with rose whorls accompanying them on the periphery of their borders leaning into shrubs and pots filled with fenugreek pots lined up leading to the elaborate plantation of jasmines running all over the doors. 

Harry's face flashed before his eyes in slow and deliberate successions. The unfamiliar wave of remembrance brought him an equally unfamiliar wave of peace. It felt as if the thought of the Alpha eased into the cracks of his heart and made their home with permission which was never granted but also with an assent they never needed. 

Standing before the Jasmines, Louis sighed and felt the rush of memories plaguing through his mind, imprinting him with various scenarios involving the Alpha. Everything was gravitating in and around the Alpha and the only question his mind conjured up was, Why?

"You're in very deep thought, young man," a woman remarked, her walking stick traced with intricate patterns, as the ribbon of her scarf flew in the open air.

"I did not mean to intrude into your property," Louis immediately apologised.

"You don't have to do that, cher," she shook her head and offered. "Come on in."

"I would not want to be imposing," Louis shook his head and attempted to decline gently due to his lack of trust.

"You wouldn't," she assured, leading him inside. 

Louis felt ashamed to be doubting an old woman with a soft face but his mother had always reminded the three of them, to be wary of smiles than tears and if you come at the crossroads of them both then trust yourself. The thought did not stick with his siblings but Louis based his entire life on it. 

Taking a seat, he carefully looked at the interiors. The property was considerably satisfactory. A pair of sofas with crotcheted covers laid at the end of the room, chairs placed adjacent to it and a table in the centre with a white linen cloth. The oil lamps and candelabras were scattered optimally. A series of stair led upstairs and another passage right in the middle leading them alternatively forward.

"This is actually the back portion," she made him aware, as she enlightened him to take a seat, "the front is the bakery, my daughter-in-law looks after that."

"Oh, I see," he let out.

"Are you a soldier?"

"I'm serving in the war, yes," he shook his head, skillfully avoiding the question.

The woman let out a smile and nodded her head, "And what brought you to my jasmines?"

Louis froze while searching for an answer. It was undignified to him to admit that the longing of an Alpha did.

"A tough choice, aye?" She questioned. 

"Something like that," he told her and then titled his head, "How do you not have the french accent?"

She waved her hand in the air and leaned back upon the armchair, "That's because I am not french, I'm English, I settled here after marrying my husband."

Louis shook his head acknowledging the woman's answer, "Where were you from?"

"Birmingham," she chuckled, "England seems like it was an aeon ago, we eloped to Paris, stayed there for quite a while and the shifted to the quiet countryside after my son's wedding."

"What does your son do?" 

"Same as you," she grinned and looked at him, "but before the war, he was working for the French government."

"Where is your husband?"

"Quite the curious cat, aren't you?"

Louis shrugged.

"He passed away a few months after we arrived in Paris," she reminisced, her expression unwavering and held her hand up before he could give her his sympathies. "It was tragic but I was happy when I was with him."

"But you mentioned you eloped?" 

"Yes, we did."

"And you never went back?"

"I made my choice the day I decided this man was worth my time and efforts and he would reflect them as well."

Louis' scepticism was showing on his face. It was ridiculous is what it was. Nobody can just give up everything they've ever worked for and become what they strived not to.

"Just like that?" Louis probed again.

"Love isn't a choice, sweetheart," she chuckled, confusing Louis again, "it just happens."

"How can we let something _just happen_?"

Her brown eyes were sparkling, as the angle of the sun directed the window to light up the house, "That's your mistake, thinking any of this is something you allowed, you can't dictate your heart."

"The leaves may listen to the wind but the roots will always rebel," she told him, "it's your roots what makes you."

Louis was quiet. How the fuck had this turned into an impromptu counselling session with a person he did not even know? But this woman seemed to have her marbles in a pot. Why was Louis listening? Why did he allow this? And why was he even considering her advice for fuck's sake?

"I think I should leave," he suggested, promptly, "my comrades might be looking for me."

"I suppose you must," she nodded reluctantly and let him go.

On his way back, he stood before the flowers. Quietly gazing their petals which were bleached white with beauty and blessed with fragrance. He did not know what to make of them.

He did not know what to think. All his rationalisations and education had simmered down into futility. He felt like he knew Harry from a dream or a dream of a dream, he did not possess an opinion when it came to feelings with regard to the Alpha. He never trusted anybody without valid reasons and a thorough understanding of their intentions. He saw what happened to people who believed otherwise, bleeding hearts, wearing their feelings on their sleeves, the world in a very dramatic stance described in vivid details the hurt and the pain and the loss. 

Was it a travesty that he wasn't in the favour to feel that?

Betrayal was a part of his life. His fate had betrayed him by changing into whatever it did when Harry arrived in his life. If his destiny couldn't remain faithful, it was woefully evident that to expect the same of people was idiocy in the blandest term.

His mind lost track of his thoughts when something was peeking behind the bunch of jasmines. Leaning closer, he bent his head down and let himself be stunned by the other flower which was budding underneath the jasmines were forget-me-nots. It had crept in through the cracks in garden wall from the neighbouring house.

"You shouldn't be afraid," the woman's voice brought him away from his initial shock, moving in his direction with a paper bag, "our fate cannot be taken from us; it's a gift."

With that, she handed him the paper bag and led him to the gate where Taylor just passed and when he enquired as to why he looked as flushed as a ghost, he looked her in the eye.

"I have to send a letter."

* * *

After posting the letter, Louis felt something stir in him when his head caressed the pillow cover. He closed his eyes and let the remaining of his troubles to be solved by slumber.

This time, his dream led him into a mortifyingly chilled house. It was probably just the weather but the cold was initiating shivers in his person. The place was well lit with candles and in his estimation, the room seemed to mirror the architecture of a study. Books lined in ebony wooden shelves with an intricately expensive mantelpiece made out of what exactly, he couldn't discern. Louis was seated on a wingback chair with his feet nestling underneath his thighs for warmth. 

The door cracked open and a few butlers sauntered inside to keep the fire alive. As they left, Harry moved inside and placed the cup of tea on the table beside the chair and quickly draped him with the blanket, he brought.

"Is this our house?" Louis questioned.

Harry regarded the question and shook his head, "It's our home, Louis."

"Oh," he regarded eloquently.

"Home is where you are to me."

Louis' blue were reflecting the flames in the fireplace, as he sat down beside the Omega. 

"Does the domesticity of it all rattle you, Louis?" Harry asked him, holding his hand. 

"If I say, yes," he began, carefully evaluating his words, "does it make me weak?"

Harry's lips descended on the back of the Omega's hand. His gaze tenderly grazed over his concern. "Nobody can make you feel anything without your consent, Louis."

"Why am I terrified then?" He shot back at him.

"I don't know that, Louis," he replied sincerely, "only you do."

"I wish to be with you but I don't know what I must do," Louis told him, his voice, tattered.

Harry gave him a smile and let out a sigh, "When I was very young, I had a bastard for a father, he gambled away our savings and we were struggling for a meal," he elaborated, slowly, "He used to beat all of us and steal the money we'd make, none of us could stand up against him, we were too terrified."

"I hadn't even presented then but he was going to hit Zayn and something inside of me cracked," he went on and Louis, ever the avid listener was paying keen attention to the man, "I stood up that day and punched him. The next moment I pushed him out of the house and we never opened our doors to him again."

"Everything we want is on the other side of fear, Louis," he informed him and kissed the back of his hand. 

"And I won't have to compromise? I won't be treated-" 

Harry halted his sentence by placing his thumb over his lips, "Not on my watch."

"There's nothing I would desire more ardently than your company," Harry confessed, "I want you to come the way you are to me and I cannot choose you until you explicitly choose me."

"Your consent matters the most," he repeated and kissed the back of his hand again. "Make your choice and I will always respect it."

"You will leave me if I ask you to?"

Harry nodded his head, his expression was pained but he did, "Yes."

Louis' mind was running at such a ferocious speed that his thoughts were bleeding onto his face. 

"Don't break my heart again," Louis ventured. "It's already broken."

Harry's fingers cupped his jaw and kissed his forehead, "I will love you with so much of my heart that none of it will be able to protest."

* * *

Hours drawled into days and the sense of time was lost somewhere between the rain and the rats. There were enough problems in the trenches. Exhaustion, the lack of water and the excessive distribution of desperation weren't good for people who were civilians. But at that point, Harry firmly believed that any sense of normalcy had been thrown out when they stood in line for enlisting.

They knew they would go back as different people and nothing could reverse the impact on them.

At least, he had Louis' memories with him. The flutter of his eyelashes, his lips pursed in a discernible frown of disappointment, his eyebrows raising ever so gently in interest but he still wasn't aware how an Omega he hardly knew wielded enough power over his mind to drive him insane in his thoughts. 

Louis had cleared him for duty, the following day and since there was no letter asking him to shift his stations, he went into the frontlines that very afternoon. He did not wait up for the Omega to greet him and Harry voluntarily did not show any traces of affliction to Louis' judgement.

Harry did not know if Louis bore his soulmark but he knew that their souls knew each other from a life he wasn't aware of, that his stars and Louis' were born of the same dust and if there was anything different in accordance to the Alpha, the world would hand him a mirror. 

"Are you asleep?" Liam's voice called out to him. 

"I am just thinking," Harry responded.

"About what?"

_Holding Louis' hand and asking him why do all of his own thoughts originate and perish at the sight of him_

"Flowers."

"Flowers?" Liam repeated uncertainly and sat beside the man. "Is that pretext for sex?"

Harry chortled, "No, just flowers."

And then he pivoted himself to his friend who laid beside him, his mind filled with questions, "How did you know my brother was the one for you?"

Liam furrowed his eyebrows and let his lips twist into an amused grin. Liam knew Harry did not entertain such conversations which sparked his interest very slowly. "Why?"

"Just tell me."

"Your brother is probably the most beautiful man I have ever laid my eyes on, mate," Liam answered sincerely, "I am the one who should ask him this question."

"He is everything I have ever needed and he is everything I did not know I needed as well." He went on, "He is bloody brilliant with his brain and his sarcasm and his everything."

"There was this one time," he elaborated, a smile surfacing his lips. "My father was drinking again and the money from the factories I worked at wasn't enough."

"And the food was very scarce," Liam continued slowly, "Zayn would go out of his way and make food and you know he can't cook for shit so he would steal Ticia's cookbooks and make a meal."

"It was so much of a tiny gesture but I fell for him there," Liam fondly admitted, his eyes reflecting the fondness he held for his Omega, "if he was with me when I had nothing, I am sure that the only reason my circumstances would change was because of him and when they do, I will assure you, I will give him everything."

Harry took in the information given and remained quiet for a moment. Louis and he hardly shared something like that. There were intense attractions and the overbearing instinct telling him to court the Omega. But in the middle of it all was another predicament.

"When was this and why didn't you tell me?" Harry questioned, not pleased by the concealment of the entire thing.

"Harry, you had your own shit to go through, the business had hardly begun and your parents had-" he left the rest to his imagination, "-I wasn't going to put you in a position to worry about my stomach before your own."

"Don't fucking do that again, you are family," Harry stressed, "you're my responsibility as well."

Liam gave him a smile, he knew that Harry took things like these seriously. Liam was older but Harry was fiercely protective of people he loved and somehow by the misinterpretation of fate, the younger Alpha had taken Liam in his falcon-like protection. Liam himself had no idea how he was friends with him one day and the next day he was willing to take a bullet for Harry. But then he realised that it wasn't him who brought about the change, it was Harry. Anybody who was allowed to caress his feathers would inevitably be under his wing.

"Why did you ask though?" Liam questioned.

Harry shrugged in response, "No reason."

Liam blinked at the Alpha and continued staring at him warranting for a more elucidated version of the answer.

"Hypothetically," Harry launched slowly and already regretted when he saw Liam's expression bordering smugness, "if I have a certain amount of attraction to someone and being away from the said person makes me think of them all the time, what would you infer from that?"

"Is it sexual?"

"No. I just want to be with him, sex isn't the prominent issue here."

"I would _hypothetically_ infer that you may be falling for this person."

"As in love?"

"No, Harry, into a ditch," he snorted and answered, "obviously, love."

"There isn't a difference to me," Harry replied with an exasperated sigh.

"Who is this hypothetical being, if I may know," Liam nudged him. 

Shaking his head, he thought of Louis' scent and negated the conversation completely. 

"Although, I may have a remedy for your hypothetical situation," Liam coyly recommended and removed an envelope and handed it to him. "Doctor Tomlinson's letter arrived for you, hypothetically."

Harry glared at him and opened the envelope. The force with which he opened tore the white fabric of the envelope by a measure. The tear allowed the contents to gently fall upon his lap.

On picking it up, Harry's eyes widened. 

He wasn't the one for blatant expressions, the kept them under very strict confinement. But this just broke through the prison of his face. 

The envelope was filled with periwinkle stained forget-me-nots.

* * *

When Harry returned to the camp, he was reminded by everyone that something called as rotation existed and he did not need to spend so much time on the field exhausting himself out. Doctor Swift had been the first one to remind him of that bit of information. She had checked him up with the nurse. Scrupulously taking time to examine the abdomen wound and cleaning it up with the same amount of care.

"Doctor Swift, I am advising you," Naomi began, her voice aching with worry, "Please check on him, something is wrong."

Swift paused and glared at the woman with a straight face, "Just because he smiled at you doesn't mean he has lost his mental faculties."

"But he hates me!"

"Now, that is a ridiculous accusation," Swift responded, nonchalance etched to her voice. "He may not be excited by your existence but that's Louis, whose existence is he excited over even?"

"But something is wrong," Naomi insisted. "He is actually behaving without a stick up his arse and that is odd if nothing."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll fuck up fine soon enough to gain his annoyance." Swift rolled her eyes and turned away from Harry, "You can go, Major."

"Naomi can show you the sleeping quarters," She told him and directed him towards the private tents. 

As they trudged in the direction off the tents, Naomi looked suspiciously at the Alpha.

"Go on," Harry prompted, "What is troubling you?"

Naomi side-eyed him and tried to straighten her expression at getting caught, a very flightless try. 

"I heard that back in England, you were a part of a gang?" She questioned. 

Harry blinked and for a moment wondered where exactly she received heavily accurate information when they were in a separate nation as of a whole. 

"I won't deny that my name has a formidable amount of power in Birmingham," Harry let on.

"Alpha Stone was bitching and snitching about you to Doctor Tomlinson," she carefully let down. 

"And how did Doctor Tomlinson respond to it?"

"He said and I quote, 'It must bother me because?'" She smirked, "His face seemed horrified, ya know they be the upper class and things like that."

Harry just grinned in response and moved into the tent she had stopped before. 

In the course of the following hours, Harry had finalised the plan for the next set of soldiers going in and detailed their stations and duties. He dotted a letter to Zayn and handed it to the man who was in charge. 

He did not know how long this would stretch but what he did know was it would leave with great reluctance. The Alpha was worried enough if he did not survive, of course, there was a plan of action, his business wasn't a problem, but his family needed him. In a very subconscious layer of his mind, he knew Louis had been included as well for a reason he did not know.

Harry sighed and was gearing up to leave for dinner in the main tent when he noticed Louis alongside Brendan. A fire suddenly raged through his heart. Christ, he wasn't a fifteen-year-old Alpha who had just presented. He wasn't supposed to feel this. Whatever the said this was, it wasn't jealousy.

Oh. They were moving in his direction. 

Standing before the tent, Brendan helped in placing the tray before the Alpha and left. Louis took a seat before the Alpha, making him question him immediately. 

"What exactly is this?"

"Dinner."

"And a private one, why exactly?" He asked.

Louis shrugged, "Just like that."

Harry's eyes looked at the Omega who placing the soup carefully before him and serving him the beef from the saucer. He was very neat in the positioning of the cutlery, signifying he had training for it. Harry refrained from commenting on it. He quietly continued observing his actions and finally when Louis concluded, his gaze tilted upward, catching Harry's sight already upon him. 

And for the first time, Louis did not shy away. His eyes were holding Harry's gaze and there was something which had changed. Something profound enough to directly affect their relationship. It was as if frost was melting down into the warmth of spring and the first rain was Louis' warmth.

"There's a letter for you," he told the Alpha, his eyes unwavering from Harry's own, enchanting the man further by his words.

"And what does the letter tell you?" Harry asked back.

"I don't invade privacy, Major Styles," he responded, a hint of mischief concealed with those words, his gaze averted. "Let's eat?"

"Sure."

As they ate in compatible silence, Louis broke the atmosphere and his voice seeped in, "You do know there's a rotation, right?"

"Like shifts for soldiers," he supplied.

Harry rolled his eyes and looked at the Omega for the blatant sarcasm, "Not you as well, there are enough people nagging."

"We are telling the facts," Louis alternated with a chuckle.

Harry gave a reluctant nod and quietly grazed his eyes over Louis. "I heard you had briefly been to Verdun."

Louis took a bite of the beef and assented to a nod, "I did. It's a different kind of destruction there but destruction nevertheless."

"That's what all of this is about, isn't it? Who can kill the other faster?" Harry let out a breath of unease, "And all of us are aiding them in it."

Louis' agreement came in the form of nods. 

"What are you fighting for, Harry?"

Louis' question was so loud that his brain couldn't formulate an answer. 

The answer remained forgotten in the silence which befell them. They continued talking until the end of their dinner, enquiring about everything which they were intrigued about by the other. Louis told him about his time in Berlin and Harry confessed about his strange admiration of horses. Harry was extremely well-read and formidably intelligent, he could quote the Bible and easily phrase Chaucer, Aristotle and other famous philosophers. They sparred in consistency with their words and wits but did not dare take a step deeper in the pool. 

When they concluded, Louis invited him back to his tent for the letter and some hidden whisky he had procured on his trip to Verdun.

"What did you do back in London?" Harry finally questioned. "Except for being a doctor that is."

"I attended those boring high society things my sister used to drag me to until I was eighteen and then I just stopped," he told him.

"My brother wanted to wed me as soon as possible so I stopped encouraging any kind of fraternising with Alphas and stuck to becoming a doctor," He told him, "I bought my own apartment and set up my own rum distillery."

"Your brother did not aid you?"

"Regardless of the love which remained between us, he is still answerable to the society," Louis muttered, rubbing his exposed arms due to the breeze which swept through. 

"Really?" Harry questioned, his voice was genuinely interested and quirked, "If I was your brother, I would exploit the hell out of your brain. You're bloody smart and conniving and extremely reliable."

Louis let out a laugh at the observation.

"I am very serious."

Peering at him, Louis' expression reeled back into the calm surface of the waters which run deep. "And if I am your mate?"

"Excuse me?"

Louis' eyes did not hover away from the consequence which reflected in Harry's own, "You said you would do that if I was your brother, what would be different if I was your mate?"

"I would allow myself to be exploited by you." He answered, his face bland and overpowering both, "And I do not give that privilege to anybody, not even my mate."

"Then what makes me different?" he asked, the question was innocent but it lit a fire in his soul.

"Because I see you as Louis when I have you as my equal, I would have everything," he informed him, "the world would stand second."

Louis' mouth went dry, as he looked at the Alpha. His eyes were filled with conviction and his answer was honest, the only words he possessed to return to him were no words at all. At this moment and this instance, he felt infinite with Harry. He would remember this night for aeons to come, for it was the beginning of always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update : 1st August.


	3. Persephone's Tears

On stepping into the tent, Louis shuffled through his belongings and found the letter to hand it over to the Alpha.

Harry looked up at the Omega after reading and his eyes suddenly lost its sparkle, Harry's shoulders relaxed but it was a sign of exhaustion more than relief. A flurry of disappointment began circling him.

"They're sending us to Somme," Harry told him, his eyes growing weary, "I leave tomorrow with Liam and the others."

"Oh." Louis let out, feeling upset with how much disappointment was carried out in that one response.

"Niall had sent a letter to us informing that he and the other comrades had been shifted to Somme for tunnelling as well," Harry gave away. 

Louis felt a small margin of brief rage at the circumstances they were in, the situations given to them and the hurt his heart bore because of the twists fate was giving him in every interval. Louis was born for disappointments, he faced them in every facet of life but the one moment he harboured a thought of expectation, fate triumphed once again. He despised her and her threads and her ways with a fury which laid only in the depths of hell.

"Will you walk with me?" Harry asked him, allowing a fleeting sense of deja vu to rush past the Omega.

"If you wish for it."

"I do wish," Harry returned. 

And they walked. They trudged around the camp lighting one another's cigarettes, as they gazed into one another's eyes in the silence of the moon and her brethren. Soft smiles and quiet glances in the middle of their sparring, that's all there was. Conversation flowed liked wine from the Gods, they would jump from the topic of politics to horses to the course of their education and philosophy.

When his rage discoursed, he had no idea. Louis was a natural and love 

"Isn't your sister in Verdun as well?" Harry probed in between.

"She was," Louis nodded, "the day you received your letters, a letter came for me. I was called to Verdun because of her ill health. She passed after I met her."

Harry remained quiet, his senses quickly running through his situations one after the other, connecting the dots which he did not know existed.

"I am very sorry," Harry offered. "Was she the only blood relative alive?"

"I have an aunt in Paris but that's about it."

"Your parents?"

"My mother died out of pneumonia when I was ten and my father shortly followed because of grief."

"My condolences," Harry put forth, he wished to hold Louis' hand or to comfort him in an embrace but he very well knew that was beyond his reach of propriety. "You can talk to me, you are aware of it, aren't you?"

Louis smiled and turned his gaze away, "I thought I'd cry, it didn't happen."

"Louis, anybody's ability to cry or lack of it doesn't define anything," Harry advised, his fingers very slowly caressing Louis' back. 

"I wish there were more people who thought that way," he mumbled, nonchalantly and quickly averted the topic which Harry quietly complied with.

Harry glanced at him and noted, "You did bring me food but you forgot an incredibly important feature."

"And that is?" Louis enquired, interest piqued.

"Flowers."

Louis emphatically shook his head and turned to look at him quietly. His eyes seemed glassy but they weren't tears. The quiet peering reminded him of a doe. Instantaneously, he held his left hand forward. The blood-red ribbon was shining in the moonlight.

"I did," he answered, gesturing to untie it.

Harry slowly but steadily felt his heart in the place of his mouth. Gooseflesh began to grace through him, as a shiver descended his spine. His destiny remained imprinted underneath that piece of ribbon. His finger wrapped itself around the loose end and pulled it with his breath caught in his throat. Each layer which peeled out instilled a new source of anxiety into the Alpha. Words couldn't define anything, they were lost in the gravity of the situation. When the ribbon ended, his eyes did not leave his skin. 

Two jasmine flowers were twirled, as they sat down over his wrist. 

Harry looked up at him with his breath taken away, his tongue couldn't formulate words. He was too overwhelmed by it. In the middle of chaos, he had found a heart which synced with his own beat, a breath which spoke with so much passion that his skies were set on fire because of it. 

Letting out a sigh first, he let out a smile of pleasure and happiness. "Thank you."

* * *

The following day was bittersweet in the beginning. Both of them were hovering around one another until Harry caught him in his tent where he had concluded his other surgery.

"May I join you?" Harry asked, his head popping in 

"Yeah, sure." Louis assented and pulled out his surgical gloves.

"We're leaving in half an hour," he sighed, Louis paused and quietly peered at him, his face had softened and his voice more gentle.

"Life must go on," he commented quietly and threw the gloves over the table.

"I may feel your absence with a passionate vigour."

Louis raised his line of sight to Harry's face and let out a smile, "You can admit to missing me, Major Styles."

"Will you not?"

"May or may not," he grinned.

The drop in temperature was clear and the atmosphere was smothering. The tension between them had been thick, after all, the pair were a formidable set of people who hardly involved themselves with the fallacy of affections. And now when there had been divine intervention to bring them together, they were unaware to go about it.

"I wish we had more time and we met in different times," he confessed.

"And if we had?" Harry questioned.

"I would allow you to court me," he smiled, "we'd dance on the grass barefoot and score through candies and play chess and every time you would lose, I'd get a new flower plot in our garden."

Harry felt his heart clench and mourn at the loss of all what was said. They were giving up a lot of things for this war which wasn't even waged by them.

"And perhaps I could play you some music while you read near the fireplace?"

"Of course," Louis' smile returned.

"Will you promise to not die?" Louis asked him, his eyes were harbouring something which breath sadness. 

"I don't make promises I cannot keep," Harry sighed and glanced at him, "but I do promise that you will always remain in my thoughts and in my words and my affection for you will only turn tenfold every minute I spend away from you."

Louis' fingers laced themselves around his hand and gently rubbed his thumb on the back of his hand, leaning closer into his touch. It seemed as if the two of them were under a spell, gravitating around each other to allow intimacy to replenish their thirst. Reciprocating Louis' touch, his fingers tightened their hold around the Omega's, as he manoeuvred the Omega closer. The Alpha's hand easily climbed up to his cheek, touching it gently, holding his gaze.

"If I saw you everyday forever, I would remember this time," Harry declared, passionately.

Louis shied away and stared down at Harry's chest. Harry's fingers pulled his chin up to glance back into those pools of blue. At that moment, he leaned down towards the Omega who gently angled himself in the Alpha's direction. Their breath mixed with one another while their eyes flickered down to retrieve back up. 

"Lou!" Taylor's voice yelled and walked into the tent alongside Liam who at the scene which confronted them were thrown into a stunned state. 

"We'll give you a moment." She hastily muttered and pulled the other Alpha back.

Chuckling at their ruined moment, Harry's hands moved to his nape and with ease unlocked the chain which remained in his neck. 

"I would offer this to you if you would accept it."

"I would accept anything from you."

Harry placed the chain on which dangled the tiny silver cross around Louis' neck. Clasping it appropriately, he exhaled a sigh. "I will write, I would love to hear from you as well."

"I will too," Louis admitted and slithered his arms around the Alpha's torso.

Kissing his neck, Harry took a deep breath and allowed his Alpha to momentarily bask in his scent. 

When they broke away, Louis' hand cupped Harry's cheek and told him, "As you leave, my heart leaves with you, so please take care of yourself and don't let it break."

"I promise you, I won't."

* * * 

_Dear Louis,_ __

_I am unaware as to when you shall receive the letter. I am alive and well but I do miss you ardently. There is a lack of flowers here but there is also a lack of you so it seems justified, I presume. I wish we had more time with one another and I think this sentence may become repetitive in our future transactions. But I want to know you and I want to be known by you, it's a desire I feel so strongly that I don't think any fire in the world could rival it._ __

_Recently, I have had a dream. A dream of you in a pink shirt and dark trousers in the middle of a field of daisies. I have no idea what we are fighting for, Louis but I think that dream is worth fighting for. Isn't it a reasonable answer?_ __

_All my love,_ _  
Harry._ __

_P.S: Do you have dreams? Do you know that soulmates do share dreams?_

Louis' eyes turned towards the ceiling of the tent and took in the green canvas. Yes, he did know soulmates shared dreams in separation. He did have dreams but they weren't as specific as Harry's. They came and went and he did not hold any importance for them at all, maybe except for one. He felt the dreams which were made with open eyes were far more important than the ones which recurred during slumber but Harry's dream did seem something worth fighting for especially since he had the same one that very night.

Letters seemed like an invaluable source of morale to Louis and he knew Harry reciprocated the feelings. On good days the letters detailed about Harry's time back in his hometown on bad days he parted with the horrors of his dreams which haunted him in a steadying routine. Louis was aware that by the end of it all, Harry may not be the same man but he still had the same soul and it answered only to Louis' own. 

There were tough days for Louis but he knew they were harder on Harry. He continued to elaborate on his time in France and Harry divulged that he was quite an intimidating name in his hometown. 

"I see someone is in a great mood," Taylor mumbled with a smirk and tilted her head from where she was sleeping. "And whose letter may that be?"

"It's Harry's."

Taylor squealed, instigating the others to look at her offendedly but promptly ignored their looks and focused on Louis, "How is he doing? Does he regret not banging you?"

"Jesus, Taylor!" Louis hissed, repulsed by her crass comment, "The same mouth you kiss your mother with?"

"Kind of," she grinned, initiating Louis to shake his head in disbelief.

"He wishes to spend more time if that's what you're wondering about," Louis promulgated, sarcasm evident in his voice.

"That, my friend, is a clear pretext for sex."

Louis closed his eyes in exasperation and couldn't control the smile which overtook his face. Why was his friend the way she was? 

"You're so annoying, Taylor."

"But you love me?" Taylor mentioned, shrugging her shoulders.

"I have no idea where you gained that idea," he told her straightforwardly, shaking his head.

"Oh really?" Taylor questioned, tilting her head. 

"Do not, there are people sleeping!" He warned.

And with that, Taylor chased him around the camp.

* * *

The next time Louis dreamt, he was in a house. Not a very ostentatious one. The floor creaked and the nails on the roof were evident even though they had been painted upon. The passageway from the door was narrow, a huge door on his right side remained firmly locked, the cream of the wooden door had tarnished and the underwood seemed prominent. Meandering further ahead, he noticed the staircase which leads upstairs. He followed his gut and moved up to the room which remained open.

He saw Harry sleeping upright on a single bed and his eyes narrowed down.

"Are we sharing this dream?" Louis enquired, stepping in, his voice satisfactory to render him awake.

"I am unsure actually," Harry confessed and moved further towards the wall, "but I think it is a dream of a dream."

"Fair enough." Louis acknowledged and slid beside him. Looking up at him, his blues were questioning, "Which place is this?"

"It's our family house and this is my room, Zayn's is downstairs, Niall's is across," he answered and looked back at Louis who carefully seemed to observe the place. The roof was sliding and Harry's room had minimal things, he couldn't argue that it was small because it wasn't. It sufficed for a single person.

"Less elaborate than you desire?" Harry questioned with a grin over his face.

"Not really, I feel it's perfect," Louis told him, his eyes shifting back to pivot themselves on Harry. "Our house was always huge. During my time in Berlin, I lived in a castle and in London, we had a villa in the city and a mansion in the countryside, my mother always strived to give us huge rooms for our needs. So I always had big rooms but I did not have anybody to share that space with."

Harry's attention was focussed on the Omega and his words.

"Growing up, propriety seemed more important than companionship for me," Louis went on, "and credibility for my siblings since both of them were Alphas."

Harry's finger moved to the stray strand of his hair and tucked it behind his ear, his thumb then descended to his cheek and caressed it. "Did they agree when you mentioned that you wanted to become a medical practitioner?"

"They laughed it off initially and let me do what I want since they believed it to be passing folly which is why they were not opposed to when I went to Berlin." he answered, his eyes mirroring an odd amount of sadness, "When Madam Anderson did take me, they grew worried."

"The high society believes their Omegas to be skilled in embroidery instead of things which could actually be useful," he added and then looked at him. "Not that I am perverse to embroidery, I enjoy it but my principle stands."

Harry lowered his lips down and placed it on his forehead, softly kissing the skin.

"You have never done that in reality," Louis remarked when he moved back.

"I am a very private person, in reality, you must know that."

Louis shook his head, "I believe that you did not want to overstep."

Harry considered his words, as he stroked his non-existent beard, "That may or may not be true."

"Then the next time you see me, regardless of the place or time, kiss me as hard as you can," he told him and kissed his cheek.

"I'll hold you to that, Louis Tomlinson," He informed him and manoeuvred him into an embrace.

"I-"

Louis' ears first heard the patter of the rain and then smelt the runny mud in the trenches. Monsoon was descending on them with a fury of the Gods. His eyes rubbed against one another and vision finally surfaced with undue obstruction. His dream plunged into a dive and obliterated into a million pieces before it's completion.

"Louis, there is a telegram for you," Taylor's voice interrupted. 

Telegrams were sent for various reasons but for Louis who had only one person of concern who was fighting in the war meant only one thing.

He shook himself awake to move in the direction of his surgical tent through the rain where the paper laid to decode it. Taylor was right behind him, an odd sense of Deja vu captured his senses. Louis had done the same thing when a telegram came from Paris informing her of her nephew's passing.

Quickly, sauntering inside, he noticed the brown piece of paper and grabbed it from his desk.

_We are extremely devastated to inform you of the collapse of a tunnel which was under the jurisdiction of the 179th tunnelling company. The collapse left no survivors. The list of people includes._

Louis did not read methodically, he just quickly scored through until he found every name which started with an 'H' until he did find it.

_Harry Edward Styles_

Louis let out a sigh and turned to Taylor, his lips pursed, "Harry was in a tunnelling accident, there were no survivors."

Taylor did not deem it necessary to respond, she just pulled his head in an embrace and Louis allowed himself to be comforted. 

Outside it poured on and on, the rain viciously lashed against anything which came in its way to reach the ground. It poured in mourning and vengeance because it could show while Louis couldn't.

* * * 

Hours turned into days and Louis had never felt more numb in his entire life.

The rain came and it went. Intermittently, of course. He delved himself into work and stayed awake for no less than twenty hours. He would drive himself into exhaustion and sleep, only to be woken up in the next few hours nothingness.

Louis did not know which god to blame. He was unaware of how death could rattle you so deeply that you were beginning to open your eyes to voids you did not even know existed in you. Louis did not feel that anything was missing, he just felt that everything was wrong and futile, like his purpose of life had been crushed before his own eyes and he did nothing. 

He hadn't known Harry but his heart had and his soul profoundly did. And the pain just seemed to make him more numb as time began to pass. People beside him moved, the war continued and injuries did not pause, time certainly did not.

The next time he slept peacefully, there had been another dream. A dream with Harry in it.

This time he was in a field of flowers. The sun seemed to overlook but with a delicate disposition, touching enough to keep them warm. He looked down at his own outfit to see a pink shirt and dark trousers, barefoot, caressing the soil underneath his feet.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Harry's voice called out to him.

Louis turned to the Alpha and tilted his head, his eyes quietly capturing Harry's features which did not seem to exist. 

"It is," Louis whispered, snuggling closer into his arm. "So this is the field, I see?" 

"Yes, I updated it by a bit though," Harry replied.

"We're going to meet here because you aren't-"

"-I am always alive in your thoughts," Harry cut him off and kissed his forehead, "always."

"I miss you," he admitted, gripping him closer.

"I do as well, little bird," he responded and kissed his forehead. 

Louis' ears heard squealing from the fields. He slowly got up and glanced at Harry in confusion for the answer who gave him a smile and got up. 

"It's the change I made," Harry enlightened him. 

Two children raced towards them. A boy and a girl. 

Louis did not need to observe further to infer who were the parents of the children. 

An aching loss plunged through him, as the boy draped his hands around Louis' neck. Harry's attention bloomed out from his mate and moved in the direction of the girl who was in his lap. 

He wanted this. He wanted this family, this sense of home and happiness. He wanted to wake-up to Harry's face and the smell of tea. He wanted to fall asleep in the Alpha's clothes. He wanted to bare his soul to Harry and to not be judged for the sentimentality and emotions which ran deep into his roots.

"Harry," Louis began, his voice broken, "I want this."

The Alpha smiled radiantly and chuckled, "Who gave you the impression that you won't have it?"

The scene dissipated before his eyes and the smell of petrichor rudely filled the tent and a painful headache seemed in the periphery. The dream which occurred to him rudely awoke the million possible timelines, he could've lived if the Alpha was alive and simultaneously made him realise it would not take place, inevitably. The door to a future like that wasn't closed but it was burnt and the ashes of it were littered over the normalcy he wanted to fill his life with. 

Fate was a gift and it could not be taken from him but so was loss and it couldn't be separated from him. 

Gulping, he rose from his place and moved through the tent. Seeing everyone asleep, he flicked a cigarette from his pocket and moved out. Navigating through the mud, he noticed the clouds were beautified through the light of dawn.

The quietness of it all haunted him but reminded him that he still was alive if not anything else. Whether that was a blessing or a curse, he still did not know.

When the day grew warmer, the post had arrived. Taylor's fiancée had given birth and there were pictures attached as well and the Alpha cried while Louis cooed at the beautiful boy in the picture. Naomi had received a proposal from a man who was serving in Belgium. It seemed as if Advent was bringing more joy into the camp. 

Eventually, another letter found its way into Louis' hand. 

"I hope they aren't tossing me to another place now," Louis muttered, as Taylor gobbled on her apple.

"They wouldn't dare," Taylor declared. "They'll have to face me first."

"Of course," Louis rolled his eyes, "the British Empire will consult Alpha Taylor Swift for her opinion because it's invaluable."

"Of course, it is invaluable," Taylor claimed, indignantly.

Louis chuckled and shook his head. Tearing the seal open, he plucked the letter out and let it fall. __

_Dearest Louis,_ __

_I have to apologize for the news of death which came to you. The tunnel did collapse and there were no survivors until Liam, Niall and I dug ourselves out. I am still alive and the only reason I am is because of you._ __

_The tunnel was filled with Carbon Monoxide and all the exits were blocked, it came crashing down and more comrades were dying and I for a moment believed that I would've been dead as well. But I saw something, in that fucking narrow nasty piece of hell, I saw that field of flowers and I saw you, in my arms. And I needed that. I needed you. I need that dream and that field of flowers and our children and most of all, you._ __

_You asked me for a promise and I said I don't give promises, I cannot fulfil but today I promise you that I will live. I will live as long as it takes to have you so ingrained in me that I don't have anything which doesn't have the essence of you._ __

_Yours,_ _  
Harry._ __

_P.S: Although, will you marry me?_

Louis' eyes remained still on the paper before him. His mouth had gone dry and the contents of the letter stared at him while the ink grew blotted due to moisture. Frowning, he traced his fingers over the sudden drop of water and then followed them back to his chin. Caressing his cheeks, he touched the tears and held his hand up to see the tears which had fallen. 

Blinking, he felt more tears fall down his face. His eyes were watering and Louis couldn't comprehend the source of his sadness or happiness or relief. He did not know where it stemmed from but it was prolific. The walls he built around were so high that he assured that nobody could wade their way through it. 

And right now, he just saw them falling down for Harry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap. I firmly believe that this is probably the best story I have penned down since Heaven and I am so grateful for whatever forces which guided my through this endeavour. I am also immensely grateful to my own version of Louis who read through this actual piece of art. I would press that everyone who read through this journey, was immensely a part of it, this journey is a part of you as well. Thank you so much for staying with me through this and reading it.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope the sky which gives me hope imparts the same to you, I hope the stars which light my way, brighten up your days as well and I hope from the roots of my heart that all of you remain safe and sane during these trying times.


End file.
